The Unwinding of Medicaid



   While I will get to why this is happening, I need to get your attention about the actions you need to take. First know, as I understand this event, everyone who is on Medicaid will get a notice between April of this year 2023 to April of next year, 2024 telling you that your status is being reviewed or it might say that your Medicaid coverage will end by XX date and you have XX dates to contest this decision. I don’t know exactly what it will say, but you will get a notice which will come in a yellow envelope with red lettering saying Action Needed. You need to be looking for this yellow envelope if you are on Medicaid. To ensure you get the envelope, make sure the Medicaid Office has your current address. If you have temporary housing, think about someone who would not mind getting your mail and having it sent there. Then open it and respond to what the request is and you should be fine.

    You can also get the notice electronically and check on your benefits at YourTexasBenefits.com, So if you are better at checking your email, this may be an option for you. Recipients are encouraged to sign up and log into YourTexasBenefits.com, verify that all information is up to date, and opt-in for electronic notices through their online account or the Your Texas Benefits mobile app.

    If you are not a person who checks their mail regularly or brings the mail and throws it on the table and doesn’t like email, then you have some extra steps you need to take. Like someone who moves a lot, you might seek someone who is willing to receive your mail and/or let you know when you get the yellow envelope.

    If you don’t have someone who is willing to help and you fall into one of the categories above, then this might be more challenging for you. Changing the way, we do things can seem really difficult. And this is really important so you don’t have to go through the whole process again of getting back on Medicaid. Changing your habits is better than showing up for an appointment and finding you no longer have Medicaid.

    So set a time every day that you go check your mail. Put up reminder sticky notes, put a timer on your phone, anything to remember to get the mail. Set it at a time when you feel fresh, so you don’t use the excuse, I am too tired to go get it. As you take the mail out, look for a yellow envelope. If it has anything about Medicaid on it, please open it up and follow the instructions. It is important that you open right away, as there is a limited time for you to respond. If you have trouble with this, please join the Prosumers WOOP class on Tuesday afternoon, to work out how to best do this for yourself.  This class is great for helping to devise a plan to have anything you want in life.

     The next thing to know is everyone is getting these. I have seen many people worry themselves into the hospital about being reviewed. We begin the “What if” game. What if I lose my Medicaid? What if the requirements are higher? What if they think I don’t need it? I could go on forever. While those things could happen, going downhill is not good for you. They have 5.6 million people to do this with in Texas so it if going to be quite a feat for them to get it done.

     Also, if you respond within their timeframe, you will keep your Medicaid even if it takes them a while to get to you. If you don’t respond, most likely, they will unenroll you and you will find out at your next doctors’ appointment.  Getting unenrolled will have you back applying for Medicaid again and because they are going through and unenrolling people, it may take quite a while to get to new applications. Don’t let this happen to you.

    So why is this thing happening? During COVID, the Congress provided states with enhanced Medicaid funding that included a requirement for continuous coverage. During that time, people stopped having their cases reviewed. Also, there were a lot of new cases as people got pregnant and went on Medicaid. Some folks are only on temporary Medicaid and would have been removed some time ago. Others, like people with disabilities, didn’t get their eligibility redetermined, a process that occurs every so many years with people who have had Medicaid for a while. Since those reviews did not happen and temporary enrollees were kept on Medicaid longer, there is a lot of work to do to clean up the Medicaid list. Under the federal omnibus spending plan passed into law in January, the continuous coverage requirement ends March 31. The government is calling this “ The Unwinding of Medicaid”. As you can see, this is going to be quite a process.

    If you have any difficulties, please contact the Prosumer office, your case manager at your Center or call Disability Rights Texas (DRTx).

    To contact DRTx for general purposes, you can call one of their regional/satellite offices Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Central Time. The locations and phone numbers of the offices are listed below.

Headquarters/Central Texas: (512) 454-4816

· North Texas: (214) 630-0916

· West Texas: (806) 765-7794

· East Texas: (713) 974-7691

· El Paso Area: (915) 542-0585

· South Texas: (210) 737-0499

 In the meantime, all Medicaid recipients should report any changes, such as address, phone number, pregnancy, or household member changes, as soon as possible at YourTexasBenefits.com, by mail, fax, calling 2-1-1 and selecting option 2, or visiting a local office or a community partner

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