Ohio Department of Medicaid (ODM) has taken action to terminate thousands of Medicaid recipients who have not responded to recent requests for information. Here’s what people need to know:

 ODM is required to verify continued eligibility for most people on Medicaid every 12 months.  This process is called “Medicaid Redetermination,” “Recertification,” or “Renewal”. Each month starting in January, ODM is sending enrollees a 14-page packet to complete. Many people did not receive their packets due to incorrect addresses.

 Recipients who receive a packet can renew their benefits by supplying the required information in one of the following ways:

• online at benefits.ohio.gov (click on the “renew my benefits” tab)
• by going to their county Job and Family Services office, or
• mailing the packet back to your county Job and Family Services office, with $.70 postage (Note: some packets have the wrong address).

 What to Do if You Receive a Letter Terminating Your Benefits

If the renewal information is not received on time, Medicaid recipients will receive a letter terminating (ending) their benefits. People who get a termination letter have 90 days to appeal the decision. If the hearing officer decides in your favor, your Medicaid will be reinstated and it will be retroactive – your medical bills for those 90 days will be covered.

If you appeal within the first 15 days, you get to keep your Medicaid while waiting for the appeal. You will probably get your Medicaid back faster if you appeal within the 90 days rather than re-apply.

 If you miss the 90-day deadline, you can re-apply for Medicaid.

 People who need help renewing their eligibility or getting their benefits back should contact their local legal aid office or a Certified Application Counselor or Navigator who provides enrollment assistance. To find your local legal aid office, go to http://bit.ly/1A0pT4y or call 1-866-529-6446,

Here are the five items you can use to talk with Medicaid customers:

1.   If the customer states they received a re-determination/recertification packet, they need to complete it to the best of their abilities, then mail the packet to the address on the top of the front page of the letter.  There is no envelope so they need to mail the packet in their own envelope and the amount of postage required is about 70 cents to be on the safe side.

2.   If the customer no longer has the packet or is unable to fill it out or mail it,  they will have to walk into a county Job and Family Service office or call the county office and renew at the JFS office.

3.   If the customer has received a termination notice they have 90 days from the date of termination to recertify.  During this period the customer’s Medicaid will not be active so they need to recertify and the Medicaid will be retroactive up to 90 days.

4.   It is not necessarily in the best interest of the customer to reapply as a new applicant unless the 90 days from the date of determination is over.  This may slow down their Medicaid more.

5.   In many instances this should be treated in the same way as previous Medicaid recertification in terms of documents and household information.