Keep your Medicaid: answer your renewal letter
Medicaid, CHIP, and Medi-Cal check every year whether you still qualify. Many people lose coverage only because a form wasn’t returned.
Step-by-step renewal help
When you get a renewal letter
- Open it right away and find the due date: you get at least 30 days.
- Send back the form or proof it asks for before the due date: online, by phone, by mail, or in person.
- Keep a copy of what you send, and keep your address and phone current with your state.
If your coverage ended
- If a form wasn’t returned, send it now: in most cases you have 90 days to get coverage back without a new application.
- If the state says you no longer qualify, you can ask for a fair hearing.
- You can buy a Marketplace plan within 60 days of losing Medicaid, often with help paying. Children may qualify for CHIP.
Pregnant or just had a baby?
- Pregnancy coverage lasts through the pregnancy and, in nearly every state, 12 months after the birth.
- Babies born to a mother on Medicaid are covered for their first year.