MassHealth Continuous Coverage during COVID 19 Emergency

On March 18, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act was enacted. It prohibited states from ending coverage for Medicaid beneficiaries enrolled on March 18, 2020 or later and continuing until the end of the COVID-19 emergency. CMS has issued two sets of FAQs for the states with more information about the termination moratorium. On March 20, MassHealth announced it had implemented the protection effective March 18. On April 7, 2020 MassHealth announced the moratorium in an Eligibility Operations Memo. It is also described in  FAQs on the MassHealth COVID-19 page, on the Health Connector COVID-19 page and  in a March 20 email to Enrollment Assisters.The federal law applies to Medicaid, but MassHealth has extended the protection to  the state-funded programs it administers including CMSP and the Health Safety Net. 

November, 2020 Update:  The Trump Administration released an Interim Final Rule weakening the continuous coverage protections effective Nov 2, 2020. See, 42 CFR 433.400

See Jan 6, 2021 Updated CMS Frequently Asked Questions reflecting policy in effect from Mar 18, 2020 to Nov 1, 2020 and changes effective on Nov 2, 2020 : https://www.medicaid.gov/state-resource-center/downloads/covid-19-faqs.pdf