The Covid-19 public health emergency declaration officially ends on May 11, 2023. Due to this, the Illinois Department of Health and Family Services (HFS) announced an end to continuous Medicaid coverage. The official end of continuous coverage was March 31, 2023. The Medicaid continuous coverage throughout the Covid-19 pandemic allowed for automatic renewals for current Medicaid recipients and even automatic approvals for new applicants without annual redeterminations to determine maintained eligibility or the initial detailed review process for Medicaid applicants to determine eligibility.

What this means for current Medicaid recipients

With the end of the Medicaid continuous coverage, HFS will be screening again for Medicaid recipients who are up for renewal. This month, May, marks the first month since the end of continuous coverage in which current Medicaid recipients whose coverage commenced in June of any given year may be receiving redetermination forms for completion from HFS. It is imperative to complete and timely submit these redetermination forms in order to ensure continued Medicaid coverage. While some recipients were automatically renewed, it is estimated that 49% were not. As such, any recipient whose coverage initially began in June should be checking their mail for redetermination forms or even following up on their case through abe.illinois.gov to ensure no deadlines are missed for continued Medicaid coverage. In June, HFS will be working on the redeterminations for those recipients with initial coverage in July, then in July for August and so forth.

What this means for current and future Medicaid applicants

Medicaid applicants will no longer receive any automatic approvals with their applications with the end of continuous coverage. This means that there will be a detailed review of financial records and ancillary documentation to ensure qualification for Medicaid. For applicants applying for long-term-care Medicaid benefits in order to pay for nursing home care, this means a review of five years’ of financial statements/check copies/withdrawal slips/deposit slips in addition to identification, estate planning and ancillary documents. This review can have serious implications in terms of not only eligibility and approval, but also in terms of spenddowns and penalty periods.

Conclusion

Now that continuous coverage for Medicaid has ended, it is absolutely imperative for current recipients and future applicants to ensure all documentation is timely submitted to ensure continued coverage as well as eligibility.