With a pandemic-era rule keeping people enrolled in Medicaid coming to an end, Pennsylvania’s Department of Human Services is reminding anyone who gets healthcare coverage through Medical Assistance or CHIP to make sure their contact information is up to date.
Anyone enrolled in those programs will soon start getting information about benefits renewal — a process that’s been on hold for the last several years because of the pandemic.
State officials say they’ve launched an “aggressive, multi-pronged outreach plan” to make sure the more than 3.6 million Pennsylvanians enrolled in Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) know about having to renew their coverage. The Associated Press reported about $6 million has been budgeted for mass media by the Shapiro administration.
Renewal packets can be completed by mail, online at the state’s COMPASS website, by phone by calling 1-866-550-4355, or in-person at a county assistance office.
Advocates have expressed concerns about people losing benefits over paperwork problems because of the volume of renewals that will need to be processed by the state, though Pennsylvania officials have said they hope spacing out the renewals over 12 months will avoid problems.
State officials have also said they will make sure to refer anyone who is no longer eligible for Medicaid to Pennie, the state’s health insurance marketplace, where some might qualify for low-cost coverage.
Children in Pennsylvania qualify for CHIP regardless of income.
For more information, visit www.dhs.pa.gov/phe.
