Medicaid renewal: how to check your date, what to send and how to avoid a gap in coverage

Your state checks whether you still qualify for Medicaid at least once a year, and under federal rules it must give you at least 30 days to answer a renewal form if one is needed. Often nothing is needed: when the state can confirm your eligibility from records it already has, it renews you and mails a notice. If you do get a form and miss the deadline, coverage can end, but you usually have 90 days to send the form and get it reconsidered without starting over.

One change is coming: federal law now requires six-month renewals for many adults in the expansion group, starting with renewals scheduled on or after January 1, 2027.

1. Before the dateState checks records first; no action needed if it can renew you
2. Renewal notice arrivesIf more is needed, you get a prepopulated form
3. At least 30 daysMinimum time to respond for MAGI Medicaid and CHIP
4. No replyCoverage can end
5. Up to 90 days afterSend the form: the state must reconsider without a new application

Stand: October 2026 · Sources: CMS, Overview: Medicaid and CHIP Eligibility Renewals; CMS renewal tip sheet.

What the notice means

• 12 monthshow often states renew most peopleMAGI Medicaid and CHIP
• 30 daysminimum time to respond to a renewal form
• 90 daysreconsideration window after coverage ends for no reply
• 6 monthsrenewals for many expansion adults, from Jan. 1, 2027federal law, applied by states

Sources: medicaid.gov; CMS State Medicaid Director letter SMD 26-001.

CMS describes the process in steps. The state first tries an ex parte renewal, which means renewing you from information it already has, such as data from other agencies. If that is enough, it tells you your coverage has been renewed and why, and you don't need to sign or return the notice if everything in it is accurate.

If it can't confirm eligibility, it sends a renewal form that is prepopulated with what it knows, and you check it, correct anything and add what is missing. States must let you return it any way they accept applications: online, by phone, by mail or in person. CMS's advice for helpers is the same advice for you: read the letter carefully for your coverage status and for a form to send back by the deadline in the letter, to avoid gaps.

Check your date and your contact details

• Your current mailing address, phone and email on fileso you don't miss the notice or its deadline
• The deadline written on your renewal letter
• Proof of income or other details, if the letter asksfollow the letter's list
• Household changesnew address, people moving in or out
• Your state Medicaid agency's numberfrom the letter or medicaid.gov

Sources: CMS tip sheet; state Medicaid agencies decide exactly what proof they request.

The renewal date is state-specific, so the letter or your state's Medicaid portal is where you find it. What you can control is contact information. CMS's first tip is to update your address, phone and email with your state or health plan so you don't miss a notice. Do this after any move, even a short one.

Your state agency's phone number and website are listed at Medicaid.gov under beneficiary resources. If you haven't heard anything and think your renewal is near, call and ask whether a letter is coming. Keep the letter, the date you sent your form and any confirmation.

What to send

The list varies by state and by case, because the form arrives prepopulated with what the state already knows. Your letter says what is missing or needs correcting, whether that is income, your address or changes in who lives with you. Send exactly that, by a method the state accepts, before the deadline, and call the agency if anything is unclear.

Photograph or copy everything you send. The insurance documents guide shows how to keep coverage paperwork on your phone, and the medical records guide covers the clinical side.

If coverage has already ended

For MAGI Medicaid and CHIP, CMS says a state must reconsider your eligibility without a new application if you return the form or requested information within 90 days after the termination date. The state may allow longer. CMS's tip sheet puts it practically: if you lost coverage because you didn't return your form, you may still be within the 90 days, so send it right away.

If you really are no longer eligible, a Marketplace plan may be an option. HealthCare.gov says you can apply and enroll as early as 60 days before Medicaid ends, and you have 90 days after it ends to enroll in a plan that starts the next month. When you lose Medicaid or CHIP, your state also sends your contact information to the Marketplace, which may write to you.

Six-month renewals from 2027

CMS's State Medicaid Director letter explains the new rule: the 50 states and D.C. must complete eligibility redeterminations every six months for most people in the Medicaid adult expansion group, beginning with renewals scheduled on or after January 1, 2027. It applies to non-pregnant adults aged 19 through 64 in that group, not to CHIP. The letter adds that everyone in the group will be on six-month renewals, whether or not community engagement (work) requirements apply to them.

How your state rolls it out, and what proof it asks for, will come from your state. If you're an expansion adult, expect more frequent letters, and treat the contact-information step above as even more important.

Keep the paper trail

Keep every renewal notice, your submitted form and any confirmation or case number somewhere you can find in a hurry. A folder with the letters, a photo of each page and a calendar entry for the deadline covers the manual version. The EOB scenario shows what else to keep after a visit.

Paperlock reads the dates in a letter or card, keeps them in a Face-ID-locked vault, and lets you ask "when is my Medicaid renewal due?" instead of re-reading the letter. This page describes federal rules; your state's notice and agency decide your own case.