Wyoming Medicaid Restarting Client Renewals

After a pandemic-related pause of roughly three years, Wyoming Medicaid, which is part of the Wyoming Department of Health (WDH), is restarting its annual renewal process for program clients, according to a release by the Wyoming Department of Health.

Medicaid is a joint federal-state insurance program that pays for the medical and long-term care of low-income and medically needy individuals and families. In the early stages of the pandemic, the federal government stopped states from reviewing the Medicaid eligibility of enrolled clients in exchange for temporarily increased federal funding. A change in federal law is now allowing states to return to their normal renewal plans and ending the increased federal funding.

“We just started sending renewal notices by mail to clients. We’ll be reviewing eligibility in the same manner as we did before the pandemic so it’s not something new,” said Lee Grossman, state Medicaid agent and Division of Healthcare Financing senior administrator with WDH.

Grossman continued, “it’s important for clients to make sure we have their current contact information so they do not miss the renewal notice. Because of the pause, our clients have not received these notices by mail over the last three years. We know living situations may have changed during that time for many people. We do not want covered individuals to lose coverage because we don’t have their current address and will be making the best efforts we can to reach people,”

A certain percentage of renewal notices will be mailed to current enrollees each month for the next year. Not all clients will receive their renewal notices at the same time. The effort will continue on a standard, ongoing basis in future years.

Grossman also mentioned that they will be renewing those who are still eligible for Wyoming Medicaid services while also ending coverage for those who are no longer eligible. It is an effort to ensure state and federal resources are used appropriately.

Common reasons clients lose coverage include reaching adulthood so they are no longer eligible for coverage as a child, an increase in personal and family income, a health status change, or moving to another state.

It’s expected many people found to be ineligible for continued Medicaid coverage will qualify for highly subsidized insurance coverage through the federal exchange. Some children may also be moved from Wyoming Medicaid to the WDH Kid Care CHIP program, which has different income guidelines.

Grossman noted having a low income does not automatically qualify people for Wyoming Medicaid. While most people on Medicaid are indeed low-income, people must also fall into certain categories based on age or health status.

Wyoming Medicaid enrollees can update their contact information online at www.wesystem.wyo.gov or by calling 1-855-294-2127.

More information about Wyoming Medicaid can be found online at https://health.wyo.gov/healthcarefin/medicaid/.