In early 2020, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) declared COVID-19 a Public Health Emergency (PHE), and Congress passed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA).The act included a provision stating that, in order to receive additional federal funding, state agencies had to provide continued Medicaid coverage to enrolled people regardless of their financial eligibility throughout the pandemic. This meant that people were still able to maintain their coverage without having to re-enroll in the program. 

However, in late December 2022, Congress delinked the continuous coverage provision from the end of the PHE. As a result, Florida’s Department of Children and Families returned to its normal process of reviewing Medicaid eligibility at the beginning of April. Over the next 12 months, the DCF will continue to review all Medicaid cases to make sure that recipients are eligible for benefits. This means you may need to reapply for benefits so that the state can redetermine your Medicaid eligibility

Be sure to: 

  • Update your contact information with the DCF through your MyAccess account. You can login to your account by going to  https://www.myflorida.com/accessflorida/ 
    • You can also view your redetermination date this way.
  • Check for renewal notices with yellow stripes. These signify that the DCF needs more/updated info to determine your Medicaid eligibility. 
  • Respond to requests from state agencies in a timely manner. You may lose coverage if you do not respond to these notices. 
  • Not panic → Rather, preemptively apply for your benefits.

If you have further questions about your account or updating information, check out the How To videos here

What if I am no longer eligible for Medicaid coverage?

Upon review, the DCF will notify you through your MyAccess account (as well as via mail or email) if you are no longer eligible for Medicaid benefits. You might still be eligible for other subsidized healthcare programs, and the DCF will automatically refer you to other subsidized healthcare programs, such as: 

    • Florida KidCare: From birth until age 18, Florida children are eligible for full healthcare coverage even if one or both parents are working. For more information about the program, check out their website as well as this DCF Flyer
    • The Medically Needy Program: A program that allows Medicaid coverage after a monthly “share of cost” is met. Those who are not eligible for “full” Medicaid because of income or asset limits, may qualify.

 For more information, check out https://familyhealthcarefdn.org/medicaid-unwinding/