Thursday, March 28, 2024
HomenewsState Plans to Resume Regular Medicaid Eligibility and SNAP Benefits

State Plans to Resume Regular Medicaid Eligibility and SNAP Benefits

The continuous Medicaid coverage and emergency SNAP benefits programs, which provided emergency relief to people in need, were recently declared by the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services to be coming to an end.

Since 2020, both initiatives have been supported by federal emergency financing for the COVID-19 pandemic. During the COVID-19 pandemic, eligible recipients were allowed to keep their health insurance.

Similarly, SNAP users started getting the maximum amount of benefits allowed for their household size. Last year, Congress passed a law that said emergency SNAP benefits would end at the end of February and that Medicaid continuous coverage would end on March 31.

Medicaid recipients must now go through the renewal procedure that was in place before the outbreak started as of April 1. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefit allocations will return to the household’s pre-pandemic dollar amount on March 1 with the termination of the federal emergency allocation.

On Tuesday, the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) talked about what it has been doing to let Medicaid recipients know that they need to reapply or answer questions from the department or lose their benefits.

The department also said that it would get back to normal with Medicaid eligibility and enrollment on April 1.

A news release from DHHS says that in the coming months, the agency will contact about 102,000 Medicaid recipients who meet the continuous coverage requirement to make sure they are still eligible for the program.

State Plans to Resume Regular Medicaid Eligibility and SNAP Benefits

People who want to keep their Medicaid eligibility must either send in a redetermination or respond to information requests from the government.

DHHS will send reminders to people who are currently enrolled in Medicaid over the coming months. These notices will either be marked in yellow in the user’s NH EASY account or printed on yellow paper.

Individuals must complete the redetermination of eligibility or supply the data asked for in the notice from DHHS to maintain their coverage. They must take this crucial step to maintain their Medicaid coverage.

Henry Lipman, who is in charge of Medicaid at DHHS, says, “Having consistent health care coverage during the COVID-19 pandemic gave Medicaid recipients peace of mind during one of the most serious public health issues of our time.”

“To prevent a lapse in their health care, it will be crucial for Medicaid beneficiaries to complete their Medicaid renewals and keep an eye out for notices from DHHS in their mail, emails, and texts.”

The agency has been collaborating with the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services since July 2020 to get ready for the changeover to pre-pandemic operations.

They have been attempting to get in touch with Medicaid recipients, healthcare professionals, and other interested parties to lessen the impact on people’s access to medical treatment, particularly for those who are medically fragile. Work includes:

  • Letters, emails, and texts are sent to Medicaid recipients.
  • Medicaid outreach calls are made on a monthly basis to vulnerable Medicaid groups to remind them to finish their renewals and offer help if necessary.

State Plans to Resume Regular Medicaid Eligibility and SNAP Benefits

  • Regular contact with medical professionals to address concerns and offer updates as needed.
  • Collaboration with service providers, interested parties, and other DHHS divisions and state agencies to promote open communication with Medicaid recipients.
  • assistance with members’ Medicaid renewals through cooperation with the State’s Managed Care Organizations, including participation in MCOs’ outreach occasions.
  • ongoing data analysis to track the effects on Medicaid members and target outreach to vulnerable groups like the homeless, the disabled, the elderly, and those who speak little English or who have other communication difficulties.
  • Automation of Medicaid verification procedures, particularly those involving address and income confirmation, whenever practical.
  • Staff will be working extra to handle the rush of Medicaid renewals that will be required.
  • collaboration with the state’s health insurance navigators, who are also taking part in outreach activities, and the insurance department of New Hampshire.

If someone loses their Medicaid eligibility, they can look into other free or inexpensive health insurance policies on the federal Marketplace, healthcare.gov.

The New Hampshire Insurance Department and the two state-appointed health insurance navigators can help:

  • At (800) 208-5164 or hmcnh.com, contact Health Market Connect.
  • Call (877) 211-NAVI or visit acanavigator.com/nh/home to contact NH Navigator/First Choices Services.

Some Recent News You Might Like:

You can find out more by visiting dhhs.nh.gov/financial-assistance-0/pandemic-related-benefits-changes. In order to assist those who are facing a lack of food, DHHS also provided information on additional options.

Food pantries, churches, Meals on Wheels programs, the Women, Infants & Children Nutrition Program (WIC), the Commodity Supplemental Food Program for adults ages 60 and older, and the New Hampshire Food Bank are just a few of the organizations that are listed on the New Hampshire Food Access Map as providing information on programs that provide nutrition assistance to residents.

The DHHS Division of Economic and Housing Stability director, Karen Hebert, stated: “As SNAP benefits return to pre-pandemic levels, we want to make sure people know that there are community options that can help those who continue to experience food insecurity.

As usual, we advise SNAP participants to notify the department of any changes to their situation so that it may be confirmed that they are receiving the correct amount of benefits based on the size of their family.

Visit dhhs.nh.gov/programs-services/adult-aging-care/food-meals-nutrition as well as dhhs.nh.gov/financial-assistance-0/pandemic-related-benefits-changes for more details and more resources.

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