{"id":28684,"date":"2023-08-04T15:54:30","date_gmt":"2023-08-04T19:54:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.carh.org\/?p=28684"},"modified":"2023-08-04T15:54:54","modified_gmt":"2023-08-04T19:54:54","slug":"rd-important-information-about-health-coverage-for-tenants-in-usda-multifamily-housing-programs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.carh.org\/rd-important-information-about-health-coverage-for-tenants-in-usda-multifamily-housing-programs\/","title":{"rendered":"RD: Important Information about Health Coverage for Tenants in USDA Multifamily Housing Programs"},"content":{"rendered":"

On August 4, 2023, Rural Development’s Office Multifamily Housing sent out the following information:<\/em><\/p>\n

USDA is encouraging Department-wide communication regarding health coverage for rural Americans.\u00a0 In partnership with you, our stakeholders, we are requesting your assistance in getting the word out on this important subject.\u00a0To advance the Biden-Harris Administration\u2019s commitment<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0to ensure\u00a0access to high-quality affordable health coverage, your efforts will\u00a0help prevent tenants in Rural America from losing Medicaid and Children\u2019s Health Insurance Coverage Program (CHIP) coverage because of the end of the COVID-19 Federal Public Health Emergency (PHE)<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Medicaid is a health coverage assistance program for children, adults, pregnant women, people with disabilities, and seniors who qualify due to their income status or other criteria. CHIP provides health coverage to eligible children through Medicaid and separate CHIP programs.<\/p>\n

Prior to the pandemic, states were required to renew coverage for people with Medicaid or CHIP coverage at least once a year, and to disenroll individuals who no longer qualified for coverage. In response to the outbreak of COVID-19, Congress took action to\u00a0ensure millions of people did not lose access to critical health care, including preventing states from terminating a person\u2019s Medicaid coverage, even if they were no longer qualified.<\/p>\n

Now that the Federal PHE has ended, federal law requires states to restart regular Medicaid and CHIP renewals. This means that over the next 12 months, everyone with health care coverage through Medicaid or CHIP will need to renew their coverage.<\/p>\n

We encourage you to support our collaborative efforts with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)\u2019s Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)\u00a0to help\u00a0prevent eligible tenants from losing Medicaid or CHIP coverage.\u00a0Here\u2019s what you can do:<\/strong><\/p>\n

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  1. Publicly post<\/strong>and distribute<\/strong>\u00a0The\u00a0Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) News Release on flexibilities to minimize coverage losses among children and families<\/a><\/strong>, for your tenant\u2019s awareness.<\/li>\n
  2. Encourage tenants who may be enrolled in Medicaid and CHIP to take the following actions:<\/strong>\n