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After three years of postponing health care renewals, Minnesota will resume renewal processes for Medical Assistance in 2023.
Like all states, Minnesota has maintained health care coverage for its Medicaid (called Medical Assistance in Minnesota) enrollees during the COVID-19 pandemic. Since March 2020, Minnesotans who newly gained eligibility or already had eligibility for Medical Assistance or MinnesotaCare have remained enrolled in the coverage regardless of most changes in their lives that previously would have affected their coverage. Continuous coverage helped Minnesotans access care during a global pandemic and maintained high insurance coverage rates in the state.
In December 2022, Congress passed legislation requiring states to return to standard Medicaid eligibility procedures in spring 2023, which includes an annual eligibility review through a renewal process. That means that most of the 1.5 million Minnesotans enrolled in Medical Assistance and MinnesotaCare will need to have their eligibility for these programs reviewed through the renewal process. Eligibility for these programs is primarily based on household size, income, and assets.
Minnesota will restart renewal processes for Medical Assistance beginning with the July 2023 renewal cohort. Renewals for Medical Assistance enrollees take place based on the anniversary month of their application for coverage. As a result, Minnesota has 12 monthly Medical Assistance renewal cohorts. For example, a Minnesotan who applied for Medical Assistance in July has a July Medical Assistance renewal date. This means this enrollee needs to complete and submit the renewal paperwork and it must be processed by the county before July 1. Renewals for MinnesotaCare coverage will restart beginning in October 2023 for coverage effective Jan. 1, 2024.
Renewals are not new to Minnesota – they are a regular part of public health care programs. However, resuming the renewal process may be difficult for enrollees because: many who already had coverage before the pandemic may have moved, changed jobs, or experienced other changes that must be considered in the renewal process; those who gained coverage during the pandemic will be unfamiliar with the process; and it has been over three years since renewals were submitted and processed for any enrollee.
The most important thing enrollees can do now to maintain their coverage is to make sure they have updated their contact information. The Minnesota Department of Human Services needs to be able to reach enrollees with important paperwork about how to keep their insurance when it is time for them to complete their renewal. If you have Medical Assistance and have moved in the past three years or your contact information has changed, please call Cook County Public Health and Human Services. For those with MinnesotaCare, please call Health Care Consumer Support at 800-657-3672 to report changes.
Enrollees can visit the Department of Human Services’ Renew My Coverage webpage (mn.gov/dhs/renewmycoverage) for helpful links to information on when they can expect their renewal to take place, information on how to prepare for their renewal, and how to sign up for updates and news.
For more information about public health care programs or renewals, please call Cook County Public Health and Human Services at 218-387-3620 or email economic.assistance@co.cook.mn.us.
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