As many as 104,000 Kansans could soon be losing their Medicaid coverage as a result of a state-by-state “re-determination of eligibility” that coincides with a winding down of expanded coverage during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Families First Coronavirus Response Act included a requirement that Medicaid programs keep people continuously enrolled through March 31, 2023, in exchange for enhanced federal funding. 

Now, states are going through and determining which current Medicaid enrollees are eligible to remain on Medicaid and which are not. The process is called “unwinding” but it basically just goes back to the process of completing paperwork for the renewal that was in place before COVID-19. 

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment will be sending out notices to households currently enrolled in KanCare over the next year. Households where the information in their file that will be used to review eligibility can be electronically confirmed will get a letter that shows what data is being used. The household only needs to return the letter if the information is NOT correct.

If KDHE cannot electronically verify all of the information used to determine eligibility, the letter will include a form that must be filled out and returned for processing. The letter will give instructions and timelines for returning the form. 

In general, households will have about 30 days to submit the review. If they do not send it in, KDHE will notify their insurance carrier to contact them. Members who miss the window will be dis-enrolled but will still have 90 days to return their review. If it is determined they should not have lost coverage, their enrollment will be backdated to provide continuous coverage.

Rebecca Witte, a public relations specialist with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas said the most important thing for anyone now on KanCare is to go on the KanCare website and make sure that contact information is up to date.

“These kinds of letters are not typically forwarded.” she said. “So verifying your contact information is very important.

KanCare enrollees can go to the website at kancare.ks.gov to check their information on file. When the page comes up, a chat box pops up in the lower right corner that will take you to a page where you can correct errors in your address or phone number.

Letters started going out in April, but the process will stretch over the coming year, so it may be several months before all the reviews are completed.

The redetermination is considered a “qualifying event” which means that people losing their coverage will be able to enroll in private insurance through the ACA Marketplace even though it is outside the open enrollment period.

Kansans who do not qualify for KanCare and who make too little money to qualify for subsidized insurance through the ACA Marketplace will find themselves ineligible for any kind of help because Kansas is one of a handful of states where the state government has refused to expand the Medicaid program.