Action needed for Mississippi Medicaid recipients to avoid chance of losing coverage

JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) - If you or your child is covered by Medicaid, you need to know that some changes are coming, and you need to take some steps to make sure you aren’t kicked off the rolls.

Georgetown University put out a report on the issue, saying millions of children around the country could lose coverage. So, we wanted to learn how Mississippians would be affected.

“Over the last three years, the Medicaid rolls in Mississippi have increased by over 130,000 and 80,000 of those are children,” described Dr. Anita Henderson, President of the Mississippi chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

But in that same time frame, the way Medicaid operated was different. There was a “continuous enrollment provision” in place. That’s about to expire, and the division will start the redeterminations on April 1.

“This public service announcement is if you have not updated your information since 2020 or if you have not renewed your Medicaid since 2020, go in and update your information,” noted health policy advocate Kim Robinson.

The Division of Medicaid tells us they launched a “Stay Covered” campaign last month. They’re hoping healthcare providers and community advocates will spread the word before they start the process.

“Some people who were out of practice or if they moved during the pandemic or whatever, then they got a renewal notice, and they didn’t update their information with the Division of Medicaid,” said Robinson. “Well, they’re falling through the cracks right now.”

“And so our concern is that if the division does not have accurate information, these children may be terminated inadvertently when they should have continued on their Medicaid coverage,” added Dr. Henderson.

But know this about the timeline.

“These redeterminations will be happening over the next 12 to 14 months,” explained Henderson. “So, it’s not like all of a sudden, all these children and adults will get kicked off Medicaid. But the first step is to make sure the division of Medicaid has an accurate phone number and an accurate address.”

“The most important thing is not to lose coverage because we have gone through a real large increase in the number of people that are covered since this pandemic started.”

It is important for Medicaid members to update their contact information by clicking this link or calling DOM at 1-800-421-2408 or 601-359-6050. The Division of Medicaid will keep adding information at www.medicaid.ms.gov/staycovered/.

Want more WLBT news in your inbox? Click here to subscribe to our newsletter.

Copyright 2023 WLBT. All rights reserved.