If you or someone you know has Medicaid, you'll want to know that major changes are coming soon in Virginia. On May 1, an estimated 300,000 Virginians who rely on Medicaid for health coverage as the state re-evaluates their eligibility over the next 12 to 14 months.
Why is this change happening to Medicaid?
A federal emergency was declared on Jan. 31, 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, Congress enacted the Families First Coronavirus response Act (FFCRA), which included a requirement that Medicaid programs keep people continuously enrolled through the end of the month in which the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) stops.
During this time, the state could not remove individuals from their Medicaid rolls as long as the public health emergency was in effect. As per recent legislation signed, Virginia will soon restart Medicaid eligibility renewals soon.
But here's the challenge: local social services departments charged with helping patients enroll are already facing backlogs. In Richmond, they’re grappling with severe staffing shortages, said Sara Cariano, a senior health policy advocate at the Virginia Poverty Law Center. (source)
In order to make sure that you don't lose coverage, you want to verify your contact information with the Virginia Medicaid website here.
What do you think about these changes to Medicaid?
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Disclaimer: Please note that this article is created for educational and informational purposes. Please confirm all information with official state sources.
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