Under normal circumstances, Medi-Cal recipients need to renew their insurance yearly to make sure they’re still eligible. But when the COVID-19 pandemic started, the federal government gave states extra money for Medicaid — on the condition that they postpone this redetermination process until the pandemic ended.
A federal spending bill that passed in December did away with this continuous coverage requirement. In April, Medi-Cal resumed its normal renewal process for the first time since the pandemic. It has just 10 more months to determine eligibility for the roughly 15 million Californians who are enrolled — more than 150,000 of which live in the Bay Area.
This “medicaid unwinding process” is affecting people across the country, as states move to resume their normal redetermination processes. The federal government estimates that around 15 million people will lose coverage nationwide — and nearly half of those will be African American and Latino.
In order to keep receiving Medi-Cal, recipients need to turn in a packet of paperwork to their county. Failure to return the packet can result in a loss of coverage. The state is helping people transition to reduced-cost coverage through Covered California if they’re found to be no longer eligible for Medi-Cal.
More information about how to fill out a renewal packet can be found on the Department of Health Care Services website.
