As a result of recent U.S. Congress legislation, the continuous Medicaid enrollment has ended for all 50 states and U.S. territories. This means all individuals who receive Medicaid must recertify with the V.I. Department of Human Services (DHS) to continue to receive health benefits.
Medicaid members who do not recertify during their required renewal month will lose coverage and will have to reapply. DHS is completing renewals on a monthly basis and requires members to provide documentation to determine their ongoing eligibility.
Human Services Commissioner Kimberley Causey-Gomez said, “Our goal is to ensure that all USVI eligible Medicaid members continue to receive health coverage without interruption of service
and that those who no longer qualify for Medicaid can transition to other healthcare options. Our dedicated DHS team is working hard to make sure that members are aware of the renewal process. Updating your contact information is vital to this process, so you can receive your recertification application in time to renew.”
USVI Medicaid members have not been required to renew their benefits in over 5 years, so it is important for Medicaid members to undergo the renewal process with the Department of Human Services to determine their ongoing eligibility.
Human Services has utilized several methods to communicate to its Medicaid members, but unfortunately, due to the ending of the Public Health Emergency, which had previously prohibited states and territories from disenrolling people from Medicaid, we are now required to begin the renewal process. Those identified Medicaid members who have not completed their renewal process by June 30, 2023, will lose their benefits and will have to re-apply.
The first set of Medicaid members who will lose their coverage due to failure to renew their Medicaid benefits will occur on June 30, 2023.
DHS strongly recommends that Medicaid members follow these steps to ensure that they renew their benefits on time.
- Be on the lookout for your renewal form coming via U.S. mail approximately 45 days prior to your coverage expiration date. Once you receive the form, please complete it, along with providing copies of the required verification documentation. Return your completed Medicaid Recertification Application along with required documents to DHS via U.S. Mail, email, or the drop box outside your DHS local office.
- Make sure that DHS has your most current mobile phone number, mailing address and email address, so that we can easily contact you with updates. Medicaid members can update all of their contact information by going to Update My Contact Information which is found on the USVI Department of Human Services webpage.
- Be on the lookout for text messages from MedicaidNow regarding your coverage and when to recertify. If Human Service has a correct mobile phone number for you, you will receive a text message alerting you to watch for your recertification form coming in the mail as well as other updates.
Medicaid Director Gary Smith encourages all Medicaid members to take advantage of the Update.
‘My Contact Information’ capability. “Update My Contact Information is a convenient and secure way for our VI members to make sure that DHS has their most up-to-date information. This helps ensure our members don’t miss any important updates about Medicaid benefits. Update My Contact Information can be accessed anytime, from anywhere and does not require any interaction with the department. This saves our members time and gives them the flexibility to update their information when it’s most convenient for them,” said Smith.
Visit the Department of Human Services website at www.dhs.gov.vi for more information.
