About Medicaid Unwinding
In March of 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic started, it was important that people could get medical care. The government created something called the “Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA)”. This gave Florida and other states more money. This funding allowed Florida to make sure people living here could stay on Medicaid health insurance until the end of the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE). However, this meant, over the past few years, a lot of people who were using Medicaid insurance were not technically eligible to use it anymore. But the FFCRA protected them, and Medicaid still covered them.
In December of 2022, a law called the “Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA)” changed the FCCRA. The CAA makes the continued Medicaid coverage end on March 31, 2023, instead of the end of the Public Health Emergency (which is still in effect).
Now that the continuous Medicaid coverage is ending, Florida’s Department of Children and Families (DCF) will start reviewing every person who uses Medicaid insurance. In Florida, this process is called “Medicaid Unwinding.” Some people may call it “Medicaid Disenrollment,” “End of Continuous Coverage,” “Medicaid Renewal,” or “Medicaid Redetermination.” These terms all mean the same thing. However, each state has a different process, so make sure you are always reading Florida verified information.
This process of reviewing Medicaid insurance eligibility typically happens each year. But, now that it has been since before the pandemic, the process will take longer. Over the next year, the Department of Children and Families will decide if people will or will not keep their Medicaid insurance.
Medicaid Unwinding Timeline
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On April 1, 2023, Florida’s Department of Children and Families (DCF) will begin reviewing.
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On April 30, 2023, the Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF) will terminate anyone who does NOT complete the Medicaid renewal process.
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On April 30, 2023, DCF will also terminate the first group of people who are no longer eligible to be on Medicaid.
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This process to review people’s eligibility will be complete by April of 2024.
What you should do now:
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Make sure your contact information is up to date on the Department of Children and Families website.
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After updating your contact information, you need to wait until you receive an envelope in the mail. This envelope will have a yellow stripe.
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Each Medicaid recipient will get their own envelope. You will not get one envelope for your whole family.
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The first set of envelopes will go out in April 2023. But, you may not get your envelope until a few months from now. That’s okay.
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Do not try to reenroll in Medicaid coverage if you haven’t heard back yet. This may add more waiting and issues with them processing your Medicaid review.
Plain Language Version
To view or share this information in plainer, simpler language with corresponding images, please check out our 'Medicaid Unwinding Information Document in Plain Language with Pictures' resource:
- Medicaid Unwinding Information Document in Plain Language with Pictures (Microsoft Word Version)
- Medicaid Unwinding Information Document in Plain Language with Pictures (PDF Version)
If you want more information about Medicaid Unwinding, you can review the Florida Health Justice Project's (FHJP) website and the National Health Law Program's (NHeLP) website.
More resources about Medicaid Unwinding will be on our website soon.
