North Dakota’s Health and Human Services Department is working to make sure people who are eligible remain on Medicaid.
During the national COVID health emergency, the requirements that people have to do their annual enrollment to remain on Medicaid was waived. But now that the emergency is over, some people will have to “re-up.”
"In some cases, there is an action that the member has to do to retain their coverage," said HHS Medical Services Division director Krista Fremming. She said getting people to re-up has been a "huge undertaking."
"Since the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, there has been no event that has impacted Medicaid so greatly as this one," Fremming said.
Fremming said during the course of the medical emergency, Medicaid enrollments in North Dakota grew by more than 50 percent. And since the emergency ended, she said the Department has been trying to drive home three key messages. One is that the Department needs the member’s current contact information.
"People move, they change phone numbers, e-mails, addresses, whatever the case may be," Fremming said. She also said members also need to open any mail they receive from HHS.
"We've actually started stamping the outside of our renewal envelopes with 'Action Required,' so that it's clear to the person that action is required on their part," Fremming said.
Fremming aid s if you receive such a form, please return it as soon as possible. She said if people are no longer eligible, then HHS can refer them to the health insurance marketplace.
"There are affordable plans on the marketplace, that people can get, in many cases, for less than $10 per month," Fremming said.
