Medicaid eligibility renewal

During the COVID-19 pandemic, states stopped checking to make sure that people with Medicaid continued to qualify for it before renewing their coverage each year. Instead, states renewed this coverage automatically to help millions of people get care during the public health emergency.

In Minnesota, the Medicaid program is called Medical Assistance or MA. A second program called MinnesotaCare is available for people who don’t qualify for MA or have affordable coverage through an employer.

In 2023, the official public health emergency ended, so Minnesota and other states have resumed checking eligibility information before renewing Medicaid coverage. 

What to do

 If you’re covered by a Medical Assistance or MinnesotaCare plan, you will have to take some steps to avoid losing your health insurance and creating potential disruptions in seeing your doctor or filling a prescription. Here are the steps:

  1. Make sure your contact information is up-to-date so you can be reached when it’s time to renew. Do this today.
  2. You will receive a renewal packet in the mail from the Minnesota Department of Human Services about 6-8 weeks before the month in which you originally enrolled. You will recognize it by the big blue dot on the front. Open it right away and review the documents inside. Learn more about this mailing.
  3. Follow the enclosed instructions to complete the required documents as soon as possible.
    an image of an envelope that patients would receive with medicaid reenrollment information.
  4. Submit your completed renewal documents as quickly as possible.

If you no longer qualify for Medical Assistance or MinnesotaCare after completing the eligibility and renewal process, you will receive information on how to apply for government subsidies to buy private insurance coverage through MNsure.org.

Questions?

If you're unsure whether you have Medical Assistance or MinnesotaCare, or have general questions about your insurance, call Health Care Consumer Support at 651-297-3862 or 800-657-3672