Updated May 1, 2023

The information provided on this post does not, and is not intended to, represent legal advice. All information available on this site is for general informational purposes only. If you need legal help, you should contact a lawyer. You may be eligible for our free legal services and can apply by calling our Covid Legal Hotline at 1-844-244-7871 or applying online here.

Take Steps Now to Protect Your Medicaid.

This post is for people on Medicaid in Louisiana.

On April 1st, 2023, the state began checking to see if everyone on Medicaid can stay on the program.

It will take 12 months to finish checking. But people will start losing Medicaid this June.

Most people will still be eligible, if the agency can update their information.

People who update their information can also be reviewed for free or very low-cost private health insurance if they cannot keep Medicaid.

The state may need information from you to keep you on Medicaid. It may have to cut you off if it cannot reach you.

You must make sure Medicaid has good contact information for you.

You might not even get the notice that you are being cut off if Medicaid does not have your up-to-date address.

What should you do now?

  1. Make sure Medicaid knows how to reach you. There are four ways you can let Medicaid know.

  • You can use this website to give an update: MyMedicaid.la.gov.
  • You can e-mail the Medicaid program: MyMedicaid@la.gov
  • You can call Medicaid at 1-888-342-6207. Their phone line hours are between 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.
  • You can call your health plan.

  1. Act right away if you get a letter about your Medicaid from the Louisiana Department of Health.

If you have questions about a letter from Medicaid, call Louisiana Medicaid Customer Service. The number is 1-888-342-6207. Phone line hours are 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Or you can visit your nearest Medicaid office. Find the closest office using this link: https://ldh.la.gov/index.cfm/directory/category/158.

  1. What if I get a letter saying that the state is cutting off my Medicaid benefits?

The letter will say near the end how to appeal the cut off.

A “fair hearing” is a way to appeal the cut off. It is free to ask for a fair hearing.

You also may be able to submit your information to the agency late, after the cutoff notice.

The fair hearing will happen over the phone with an administrative law judge. Medicaid will look at your case again before the hearing.

If you need help understanding any of this, try to find a lawyer. Louisiana has programs that offer free legal aid.

Any notice ending your Medicaid will list the free legal aid office that may be able to help you at the end.

For Southeast Louisiana, you can reach your local free legal aid program here: www.slls.org/contact-us/. 

The information provided on this post does not, and is not intended to, represent legal advice. All information available on this site is for general informational purposes only. If you need legal help, you should contact a lawyer. You may be eligible for our free legal services and can apply by calling our Covid Legal Hotline at 1-844-244-7871 or applying online here.

Update: You only need to have received $5,000 in home repair assistance from FEMA to qualify for Restore Louisiana! There are new Restore Mobile locations and events too!

Additionally, they are having in-person events. You can find information here: https://www.restore.la.gov/events

Am I eligible?

All these things must be true for you to get this aid:

  • You must have owned the home when the hurricane hit.
  • That home must have been your “primary residence.” That means the home was the main place where you lived at the time of the hurricane.
  • You must still own that home.
  • Your income must be low-to-moderate. There are rules about what that means.
  • The government must find that your home had “major and severe” damage.
  • Any one of the three things listed here should mean your home had “major and severe” damage:
  • You received a FEMA award of at least $5,000 to repair your home.
  • You received a FEMA award of at least $3,500 for personal property.
  • Your home had more than one foot of flooding.

For more information on eligibility and how the program works, refer to our previous blog post here: https://slls.org/restore-louisiana/