What is a Medicaid renewal or redetermination packet?

It is your state checking whether you still qualify for Medicaid. Federal rules require states to re-check eligibility at least once every 12 months. If the state can confirm your eligibility from records it already has, you simply get a notice. If it cannot, you get a form to complete and return.

How long do I have to return my Medicaid renewal form?

At least 30 days from the date on the renewal form. States may allow longer, but not less. The due date is printed on the packet.

What happens if I miss my Medicaid renewal deadline?

Your coverage stops. However, if you were terminated only because you did not return the paperwork, and you submit it within 90 days of the termination date, your state must reconsider your eligibility without requiring a new application. Some states allow longer than 90 days.

Do I have to pay to renew Medicaid?

No. Renewing Medicaid is free. Any letter, call, or text asking for a fee, gift card, or card number to keep your benefits active is a scam.

Are Medicaid renewals changing to every six months?

For adults covered through Medicaid expansion, yes. Under the 2025 federal reconciliation law, those renewals move from annual to every six months, beginning with renewals scheduled on or after the first quarter following December 31, 2026. Eligibility rules themselves do not change, only how often they are re-checked.

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Medicaid renewal packet: what it means and what to do

Also called a redetermination, recertification, or renewal notice.

The short version: your state is checking whether you still qualify for Medicaid. If the packet asks you to fill something in and send it back, you have at least 30 days from the date on the form to do it. If you miss that deadline your coverage stops — but federal law gives you 90 days after it stops to send the form in and have your coverage reconsidered without starting a whole new application.

Why you got this

Medicaid is joint federal-state health coverage for people who qualify on income and circumstances, run by your state within federal rules. It is not permanent once you are approved. Federal rules require your state to re-check your eligibility at least once every 12 months. That check is the renewal. States use different words for the same thing — renewal, redetermination, recertification, "annual review" — and the word your state uses does not change what you have to do.

Before your state sends you anything, it is required to try to renew you automatically using information it already has, such as wage data and other records it can access. That automatic path is sometimes called an ex parte renewal. Two things can happen:

They could confirm it on their own. You get a notice telling you that you have been renewed and on what basis. You do not have to sign it or send it back if everything on it is correct. You do have to tell them if anything on it is wrong.
They could not confirm it on their own. You get a renewal form, usually already filled in with what they have on file, and you have to complete it and return it.

If your packet has blanks to fill in, a signature line, or a list of documents to send, you are in the second group and the deadline applies to you.

What it is asking you to do

Read the packet for these four things specifically:

The due date. It is usually printed near the top or in bold on the cover letter. This is the only date that really matters.
Pre-filled information to check. Household size, income, address, who is on your case. If any of it is out of date, correct it — do not leave it because it is already printed.
Documents they want. Commonly pay stubs, a benefit award letter, or proof of an address change. Some renewals ask for nothing at all.
How to send it back. Most states accept online, by mail, by phone, and in person. Your state cannot require you to come in for an in-person interview as part of a renewal.

Send it whichever way you can prove it went. If you mail it, keep a copy. If you upload it, screenshot the confirmation.

What happens if you ignore it

Your coverage ends. This is the part people get wrong: most people who lose Medicaid at renewal were still eligible. They lost it because the paperwork did not come back in time. That is called a procedural termination, and it is common enough that federal law includes a specific fix for it.

The 90-day window. If your coverage was terminated because you did not return the renewal form or the information they asked for, and you then send it in within 90 days of the termination date, your state must reconsider your eligibility without making you file a new application. Some states allow longer than 90 days. If you are found still eligible, coverage is restored.

This only applies when you were cut off for missing paperwork. If you were reviewed and found genuinely ineligible — income too high, for example — that is a different situation, and the route there is an appeal, not a reconsideration.

One more protection worth knowing: before your state can declare you ineligible, it has to check whether you qualify under any other Medicaid category, not just the one you were enrolled under. And if you truly no longer qualify, the state is required to check whether you might be eligible for other coverage programs and pass your information along. Losing Medicaid also opens a special enrollment period on the ACA Marketplace, so you are not stuck waiting for open enrollment — but Marketplace coverage does not backdate, so the longer you wait, the longer you are uninsured.

Deadlines to watch

Before your renewal: states generally send the packet ahead of your coverage end date. If your address is stale, this is where it goes wrong — the notice goes to the old address and you never know a clock started.
At least 30 days from the date on the renewal form to complete and return it. Your state can give more; it cannot give less.
90 days after termination to send in the form and get reconsidered without a new application.

A change coming for some adults

Under the 2025 federal reconciliation law, adults covered through Medicaid expansion move from renewing once a year to every six months, starting with renewals scheduled on or after the first quarter following December 31, 2026 — in practice, 2027 for most people. CMS issued guidance to states in March 2026 on how to make the switch.

This does not change who qualifies. It changes how often you have to prove it, which means twice as many chances to be dropped over a missed envelope. If you are an adult who got coverage through expansion, keeping your mailing address and phone number current with your state is the single highest-value thing you can do.

Is this letter real, or a scam?

Renewal season attracts fraud, because scammers know people are anxious about losing coverage. Signs a letter or call is not legitimate:

It asks you to pay a fee to renew. Renewing Medicaid is free. There is no processing charge.
It threatens that your coverage ends today unless you act on the phone right now.
It asks for a credit card, gift card, or bank routing number to "keep your benefits active."
It came by text or social media message with a shortened link.

When in doubt, do not use the phone number or link in the message. Look up your state Medicaid agency independently and call the number on their official site or on your Medicaid card.

Not sure what your specific packet is asking for?

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Sources

42 CFR § 435.916 — Periodic renewal of Medicaid eligibility (eCFR)
Overview: Medicaid and CHIP Eligibility Renewals (Medicaid.gov)
CMS State Medicaid Director letter on six-month redeterminations, March 2026 (Medicaid.gov)

MyPlainLetter is an independent service. It is not affiliated with, authorized by, or endorsed by any federal or state government agency. This page is general information about how Medicaid renewals work — it is not legal, medical, tax, or benefits advice, and rules vary by state. For a decision about your own case, contact your state Medicaid agency.