Starting this weekend, Georgia will began redetermining the eligibility of 2.7 million adults and children who are currently receiving Medicaid or PeachCare for Kids coverage.
Many of these recipients have been covered because of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, which was passed by Congress in March of 2020 as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Under this act, Georgia Medicaid members were continuously eligible for Medicaid coverage as long the U.S. was under a federal public health emergency.
This changed in December of 2022, after a federal spending bill was passed that ended Medicaid continuous enrollment on March 31. States began Medicaid redetermination — where those on Medicaid are asked to show that they still qualify for coverage — on April 1.
The bill stated that redetermination could begin regardless of the end of the public health emergency, which is set to expire on May 11 of this year.
According to Kaiser Family Foundation, at the end of the continuous enrollment period, 5 to 14 million Americans could lose their Medicaid coverage.
During redetermination, which Georgia has 14 months to figure out, those who receive Medicaid may be asked to update or provide information about their job, income, and more to retain coverage.
Georgians who are concerned about their Medicaid can check staycovered.ga.gov for more information about what they can do to keep their coverage.
As stated on the DHS website, Georgians on Medicaid can also take action by ensuring that the information on their Gateway account is up to date. They can sign up for email notifications on Gateway to stay informed.