Welcome to the District of Columbia Medicaid Restart Information page. Here you will find documents related to the District's Unwinding of the Continuous Coverage for Medicaid Beneficiaries.

In March 2020, at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government declared a public health emergency (PHE). As a result, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) temporarily waived certain Medicaid requirements and conditions. The easing of these rules helped prevent people with Medicaid in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the five U.S. territories from losing their health coverage during the pandemic.  

At the beginning of 2023, states received new information from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that the continuous eligibility requirement, part of the PHE, will end effective March 31, 2023. This means that all 50 states and the District of Columbia will be required to restart Medicaid eligibility renewals.  

DHCF has been planning for the end of the PHE since it began but having a concrete date put the wheels in motion for unwinding activities.  

Medicaid Restart is what DHCF is calling the complete unwinding from the PHE, including: 

• Medicaid Renewal- Asking beneficiaries to reapply for Medicaid 
• Managing the End of the Public Health Emergency by sunsetting emergency authorities:  
• Enhanced provider rates  
• Virtual assessments and signatures  
• Stay in LTSS service reductions