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Elizabeth M. Whitehorn, Director

"Are you Covered?” Messaging Toolkit

Illinois Medicaid messaging toolkit for the end of continuous coverage and the Medicaid Renewal Process

Key Messages and Template Communications for Healthcare Providers and Nonprofits, Advocates, and Other Non-Providers Working with Medicaid Customers

In May, the federal government ended all COVID-19 pandemic-related Medicaid changes put in place during the federal public health emergency. This means that regular, annual eligibility verifications, also known as renewals or redeterminations, must resume.

Just like pre-pandemic procedures, Medicaid customers will receive a renewal form in the mail which they must complete and return by the deadline to continue to receive Medicaid coverage.

Everyone’s renewal date is different depending on when they were enrolled. Customers whose renewals are due in October will get a letter the first week of September and must return them by October 1, and so on. If someone doesn’t submit their renewal or doesn’t qualify anymore, they may lose coverage as early as one month after their renewal due date.

If you have questions or want to learn more about the end of continuous coverage, visit our FAQ page.

How You Can Help

The Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services is asking for all healthcare providers, nonprofits, advocates, and community organizations that work with Medicaid customers to help spread the word so we can keep as many people as possible covered with Medicaid.

Please put a system in place to keep Medicaid customers covered using the main messages and templates below to describe the steps they need to take. 

Healthcare Providers

You can work with Medicaid customers during check-in, in appointment reminders, during appointment reminders, and during checkout. Use your MyChart or your patient portal to send reminders throughout the year. If you have an email or text list, use that repeatedly. If your check-in staff can see renewal due dates, train them to tell customers when they are due to renew and what they need to do to get ready. Hand out and post written material. Put a computer in your waiting room and set the homepage to abe.illinois.gov  so people can click on "Manage My Case" to update their address or check their due date (also called redetermination date) and manage their case.

Nonprofits, Advocates, and Other Non-Providers Working with Medicaid Customers

Make a list of the ways you interact with Medicaid customers and plan how you can incorporate these into your standard operating procedures. If you have an email list, send multiple emails throughout the year. If you have a check-in counter, post our flyer and keep a stack of palm card printouts. If your staff has 1:1 contact with people who use Medicaid, train them to use these messages. If you are a food bank, slip flyers into each grocery bag.

We have developed a downloadable messaging toolkit, in multiple languages, that your organizations can use to help people prepare for renewal and connect to coverage. Since everyone’s due date is different, repetition is the key to adoption. We ask that you continue to share these messages in multiple places, multiple times.

Educational Institutions

Because you work so closely with Medicaid families, you know how important it is to spread the word about how people can renew their coverage. This toolkit provides you with downloadable materials that can be co-branded with your contact information and institutional logo to make these flyers more recognizable for your students and their families.

Instructions for co-branding:

  • To add your contact information to the footer, use your cursor to select the placeholder copy and enter your details such as name, email, and/or phone number.
  • To add your logo next to the HFS logo, select the file on your computer and drag it into the document. Right-click on the logo image and select “Size and Position” from the drop-down menu. Go to the “Text Wrapping” tab and select “In Front of Text,” then resize and reposition your logo accordingly.

Educators Toolkit

For additional questions or requests about this toolkit, please email us at hfs.communications@illinois.gov.