CHALLENGE

During the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE), the federal government ordered states to pause the Medicaid renewal process to prevent people from losing health insurance. For three years, members did not have to renew or provide proof of eligibility. After the PHE ended in May 2023, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) gradually reinstated annual renewal and redetermination processes. Over the next 13 months, all Wisconsin Medicaid members were required to renew for their coverage to continue.

Some Medicaid members no longer qualified and needed different coverage. Others were anticipated to be stymied by the process due to a lack of understanding or other barriers. For these reasons, it was estimated that thousands of people would lose their health insurance by failing to renew. Members needed to learn about the renewal process and what to do to keep their coverage.

APPROACH

In partnership with DHS, Covering Wisconsin (CWI) planned an extensive targeted outreach campaign with strict data sharing, privacy, and security agreements. Starting in May 2023, CWI sent texts, drop voicemails, pre-recorded calls, and postcards to thousands of households across the state, alerting them about renewal requirements and how to access CWI’s free enrollment assistance services.

OUTCOME

More than 300,000 messages were sent to 200,000 households in 23 languages. CWI partnered with UW–Madison’s Department of Population Health Sciences to measure the effectiveness of the campaign’s various outreach methods. The results of the study will inform future outreach efforts.