Minnesota Council of Health Plans Release Resources to Support Minnesotans Through Medicaid Unwinding

As the state begins the process of redetermining eligibility for more than 1.5 million Minnesotans enrolled in the state’s health care programs, Medicaid (Medical Assistance) and MinnesotaCare, everyone has a role to play in the effort to help individuals and families renew their health insurance and ensure they continue to have timely access to care.

“Over the past two years, the Council and our member plans have been working with the state, providers and community groups to prepare for the enormous effort to help the state redetermine the eligibility of 1 in 4 Minnesotans and ensure no one faces an avoidable gap in coverage,” said Lucas Nesse, President and CEO of the Minnesota Council of Health Plans. “Gaps in coverage lead to gaps in care and we are committed to making sure Minnesotans have the support they need to maintain their health insurance or find other coverage options to stay connected to care.”

With state estimates showing that 375,000 Minnesotans could potentially move off public coverage during this 12-month process, there is a lot of work to do to increase outreach and help people learn how to successfully renew their coverage or transition quickly and seamlessly to other coverage.

Providers, employers, and community-based organizations are essential partners in the effort to make sure Minnesotans keep their coverage during the unwinding process. The educational toolkit provides information and resources for various stakeholders to answer common questions and support Minnesotans needing to complete a renewal, re-enroll, or find new coverage.

The resources are available for various stakeholders, including:

• Enrollee Resources to Prevent a Gap in Coverage
• Provider Resources to Help Patients Prevent a Gap in Coverage
• Community Resources to Keep Minnesotans Covered
• Employer Resources to Support Employees Transitioning to ESI

Council members are also taking important steps to make sure that Minnesotans stay covered and continue to have access to affordable and timely care throughout this process. These efforts include:

• Reaching out directly to plan members to update contact information and assist with renewals and connect them with enrollment assistance;
• Building renewal assistance into all plan customer service interactions to proactively engage members and answer questions on the renewal process;
• Partnering with community organizations to disseminate information and resources throughout the state;
• Focusing on health equity by targeting Minnesotans most at risk for losing health care coverage to ensure they have access to the necessary information and resources to avoid a gap in coverage, and;
• Advocating for policies to better streamline eligibility and review processes for Medicaid programs.