Medicaid Renewal Packet: What to Send and When It's Due

Sign the renewal form, correct anything wrong on it, and send it back with the proof the packet asks for by the due date printed inside. For Medicaid based on income, federal rules give you at least 30 days from the date on the form, and California gives 60. If coverage ends because the state never got the form, you have 90 days after the termination date to send it, and the state must reconsider you without a new application. Today, find the due date, return the signed form online or by phone, and write down the confirmation number.

Missing paperwork, not a finding of ineligibility, caused most cutoffs in the last big renewal wave: in 2023 and 2024, about 7 in 10 people who lost Medicaid were cut for an unfinished renewal.

What the packet means and what goes back

The state tries to renew you first from records it already has, such as wage and tax data. When that works, you get a notice saying you are renewed, and you answer it only if something on it is wrong. A packet with a form to sign means the state needs more from you: the form comes pre-filled with what the state has, and it names what is missing.

• The signed form. The renewal counts only once it is signed. A signature on paper, online or recorded over the phone all work.
• Corrections. Fix any pre-filled answer that is out of date: income, address, who lives with you, a pregnancy or a new baby.
• The proof the packet lists, and only that. The state can ask only for information it needs to renew you, and it asks for papers when its own data checks come up short. If the letter asks for pay stubs, send pay stubs.
• Every person on the case. Each household member is renewed on their own. A child under 19 who is renewed keeps Medicaid for the next 12 months even if family income rises.

Return the packet any way the state takes applications: its website, phone, mail, in person or other electronic means. The state must accept all of them, and it cannot make you come in for an interview to renew income-based Medicaid. Coverage stays on through the cutoff date on a termination notice, and that notice must go out at least 10 days before the cutoff.

These federal minimums cover Medicaid based on income: children, parents, pregnant people and adults under 65 covered by Medicaid expansion. If you get Medicaid because you are 65 or older, blind or disabled, your state sets the timeline and whether the 90-day window applies (California applies it to everyone), and the due date in your packet controls.

What to do today

1. Open every page of the packet and circle the due date and the list of documents requested.
2. Check each pre-filled answer for every person on the case, and correct the wrong ones.
3. Gather only the listed proof, such as the last month of pay stubs or a benefit award letter, with your name and case number on each page.
4. Sign and return the form online or by phone, and write down the confirmation number, the date and the worker's name. If you mail it, keep copies and use the return envelope or tracked mail.
5. Update your address, phone and email with the Medicaid office.
6. Call about a week later to confirm the state logged your form and needs nothing else.

California, New York and Texas

California (Medi-Cal)

The county mails the pre-filled form at least 60 days before your renewal date, and you have 60 days from the date it is sent to respond. Return it through BenefitsCal, in the return envelope, by phone or at a county office. If you have not responded, the county must try to reach you by phone or electronically during those 60 days. After a cutoff, send the signed form or the missing information within 90 days and the county redetermines you without a new application. Send it in 2026 and you can ask for Medi-Cal for up to three months before the month you send it, to cover the gap. The Medi-Cal income limits show whether you still qualify.

New York

If you enrolled through NY State of Health and it needs more information, your notice asks you to log in to your account and add it. Your renewal date is under the Plans tab. NY State of Health sends a warning at least 15 days before coverage closes, and you have 90 days after it ends to submit your information and have it reviewed. Call 1-855-355-5777 (TTY 1-800-662-1220). In New York City, free Health Department counselors help with renewals at 866-467-8733 (866-INSURED). If you enrolled through your county's Local Department of Social Services, contact that office instead.

Texas

Texas starts your renewal in the ninth month of your 12-month coverage period with Form H1211, It's Time to Renew Your Health-Care Benefits. If it says more information is needed, return a signed Form H1206, Health Care Benefits Renewal, and every verification requested within 30 days. If Texas renewed you from its data, return the H1206 only when something on it is wrong or has changed. Print the H1206 from the Letters and forms tab of your Your Texas Benefits account, or call 2-1-1 (or 877-541-7905), pick a language, then option 2, and ask for it by mail. Send it by mail, fax, phone or online. After a cutoff for missing information, Texas reopens the case without a new application when you send it by the 90th day after your last month of coverage, though the months in between can stay uncovered.

For other states, the Medicaid.gov state directory lists each Medicaid agency's website and phone number.

Where your case splits

• If you got a renewal approval and no form, you are done. Tell the state only if something on the notice is wrong.
• If coverage already ended for a missing form, send the signed form and the listed proof now, within 90 days of the termination date, and ask for reconsideration. Past 90 days, file a new application and ask for retroactive coverage of gap bills: up to three months back if you apply in 2026; from January 1, 2027, one month for expansion adults and two for others, unless a state waiver shortened or ended it.
• If you sent everything and still got a termination notice, request a fair hearing before the effective date on the notice, and coverage continues until the hearing decision. If you lose, the state can seek repayment for care Medicaid paid during the wait. States set the hearing deadline, up to 90 days from the notice's mailing date.
• If your income is now too high, the state must check every other Medicaid category first, then send your information to the Marketplace. Start with our guide to moving from Medicaid to Marketplace coverage, and check the children for CHIP.

Six-month renewals for expansion adults in 2027

Under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (Public Law 119-21), adults 19 to 64 covered through Medicaid expansion renew every 6 months instead of every 12, beginning with renewals scheduled on or after January 1, 2027. Many of them must also show work or other community engagement at each renewal. American Indian and Alaska Native adults keep yearly renewals, and the rule skips states without full Medicaid expansion. In New York, apply before January 1, 2027, or renew before March 1, 2027, and you get 12 months first; California starts six-month renewals no sooner than March 1, 2027. The packet, the signature and the 90-day window work the same way.

Your leverage

• The 90-day reconsideration window: a late form gets you reconsidered without a new application.
• A fair hearing with coverage continued: ask before the effective date and your Medicaid stays on until a hearing officer decides.
• A full review before any cutoff: the state must consider every basis of eligibility before ending coverage. If you are 65 or older, blind or disabled, say so and ask to be checked for those groups.
• Bills from a gap: apply for hospital financial assistance on care received while you were off.

Call legal aid before your hearing if the state ended coverage after you returned the form on time, says you owe money for past care, or is moving you off disability-based Medicaid. The Legal Services Corporation finder lists free legal aid by address.

What to say when you call

"My name is [name] and my case number is [number]. My Medicaid renewal packet was dated [date] and due [date]. I returned it on [date] by [online / phone / mail], signed, with [proof]. Please confirm you have it and tell me if anything is missing. [If coverage ended:] My coverage ended on [date] for a missing renewal. I am sending the signed form and proof today, within 90 days, and I am asking you to reconsider my eligibility without a new application. [If a termination notice came after you sent it:] I want a fair hearing, and I want my coverage continued until the decision. What date did you record, and what is the confirmation number?"

Today

1. Sign and return the form with the listed proof online or by phone, and keep the confirmation number.

Next comes a notice: renewal for another 12 months (6 for expansion adults once their 2027 schedule starts), a request for more information with a new due date, or a termination notice at least 10 days before the cutoff, with your hearing rights printed on it.