HJAR Mar/Apr 2023

42 MAR / APR 2023 I  HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF ARKANSAS MEDICAID COLUMN MEDICAID FOR SEVERAL MONTHS, state Medicaid programs have been preparing for the end of the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE). The end of the PHE would trigger a return to normal eligibility redetermination requirements, and Medicaid beneficiaries whose coverage had been extended due to the PHE would have to complete and submit renewal paperwork to determine whether they were still eligible for coverage. As of January 2023, over 400,000 ben- eficiaries have had their coverage extended because of the continuous enrollment con- dition that requires states not to disenroll most beneficiaries. Beneficiaries could have been extended for several different reasons, including that they now have an income that exceeds eligibility levels, have not responded to a request for information as part of the renewal process, had a level of care change that made them no longer eligible, or have aged out of eligibility. However, the ConsolidatedAppropriations Act of 2022 signed into law in late December Campaign to Determine Eligibility for Medicaid Beneficiaries 2022 included a provision that set a specific date for states to begin redetermining Med- icaid eligibility independent of the end of the PHE. Starting April 1, 2023, each state must be- gin redetermining eligibility for Medicaid beneficiaries. Per Arkansas state law, all re- determinations on beneficiaries whose cov- erage has been extended must be completed within six months of that date. What does this mean for Arkansans who have health coverage through Medicaid? States are allowed a 60-day head start on the redetermination process, so starting Feb. 1, 2023, Arkansas Medicaid began mailing renewal packets to Medicaid beneficiaries. To help make sure beneficiaries know what is happening and why, Arkansas Medicaid rolled out a new education campaign called “RenewArkansas.” RenewArkansas is Phase 2 of the Medicaid renewal education effort inArkansas. Phase 1, “Update Arkansas,” focused on asking Med- icaid beneficiaries to update their contact information —mailing address, phone num- ber, and email — so that Medicaid renewal information can be accurately delivered to beneficiaries. RenewArkansas focuses on alerting ben- eficiaries that their Medicaid renewal infor- mation is coming and encouraging them to complete and return the information to de- termine their eligibility. The primary audience for this campaign is all Medicaid beneficiaries in Arkansas, especially those whose coverage has been extended because of the pandemic. Special emphasis is being placed on children and on seniors. All materials have been translated into Spanish and Marshallese as well. To boost the impact of the messaging, Ar- kansas Medicaid will also appeal to friends and family of Medicaid beneficiaries along with healthcare providers and other com- munity partners to help share and spread the message to beneficiaries and their sup- port circles. This means that we need your help.