Throughout the pandemic, the federal Public Health Emergency (PHE) designation has
provided important consumer protections, bolstering the State’s efforts to ensure access
to health coverage and care for New Yorkers. During this unprecedented crisis, NY
State of Health and Local Departments of Social Services have served as a critical
source of stability, safeguarding the health insurance coverage of over 9 million New
Yorkers enrolled in Medicaid, Child Health Plus (CHP), and the Essential Plan (EP).

On December 29, 2022, the federal Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 (CCA) was
enacted. The CCA makes a number of policy changes to Medicaid and the Children’s
Health Insurance Program (CHIP), including some significant changes to the continuous
enrollment requirements under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA).
As of April 1, 2023, the Medicaid continuous coverage requirement adopted by the
FFCRA in March 2020 is delinked from the federal COVID-19 public health emergency.

Pursuant to the CCA, the Centers for Medicaid and CHIP Services (CMCS) issued an
informational bulletin on January 5, 2023, which included information on key due dates
for certain state unwinding deliverables and activities. States are required to begin
issuing eligibility redetermination notices by April 2023. Resuming redeterminations is
referred to as “unwinding” the continuous coverage provisions in the CMCS guidance.
Pursuant to the guidance, renewals for New York’s more than 7.7 million Medicaid
enrollees and more than 1.3 million enrollees in Child Heath Plus and the Essential
Plan, must be completed by the end of May 2024.

Click here to view NY State Letter regarding the unwinding in NY.