Medicaid and Other Health Coverage Resources

Medicaid provides health coverage to millions of eligible low-income Americans. WIC staff can help connect women and children with appropriate resources to learn more, find out if they qualify for Medicaid, and apply for health coverage. 

The Center for Medicaid and CHIP Services (CMCS) is the focal point for all national program policies and operations for three state-based health coverage programs: 

• Medicaid provides health coverage to low-income people.
• The Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) provides federal matching funds to states to provide health coverage to children in families with incomes too high to qualify for Medicaid, but who can't afford private coverage.
• The Basic Health Program (BHP) allows states an option to provide affordable coverage of care for people whose income fluctuates above and below Medicaid and CHIP eligibility levels.

Now that the Federal Public Health Emergency has ended, States will restart yearly Medicaid and CHIP eligibility reviews. WIC staff can encourage WIC participants who may be enrolled in Medicaid and CHIP to take the following actions:   

• UPDATE contact information with their State Medicaid or CHIP agency.   
• RESPOND to the Medicaid/CHIP renewal form when it arrives to keep their coverage.   
• PARENTS SHOULD respond even if they don’t think they’re eligible – their kids could still be eligible!   
• CONSIDER OTHER COVERAGE OPTIONS: If they are no longer eligible for Medicaid or CHIP, encourage them to check if they can get coverage through their employer, through the Affordable Care Act Marketplace at HealthCare.gov, or through Medicare for certain younger people with disabilities.    

Partner with your State Medicaid agency to spread the word about renewals. You can find contact information on your State Medicaid agencies here.     

CMS’s Communication Toolkit is available with resources that may help WIC staff provide information that is relevant to some WIC participants. Ideas for reaching WIC participants include:

• Remind WIC participants you interact with over the phone about renewing their Medicaid or CHIP coverage and to update their address with their State Medicaid agency.   
• Promote social media content and graphics pulled from CMS’s toolkit on your social media platforms, including Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc.   
• Distribute flyers at community events to remind WIC participants about renewing their health coverage. Check out CMS’s website to download sample and fillable flyers to use.  
• The toolkit is available in English and Spanish. Some of the Toolkit materials, including drop-in articles, a fact sheet, and a post card are also available in Chinese, Hindi, Korean, Tagalog, and Vietnamese.

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