Renew my coverage

You must renew your Virginia Medicaid health coverage each year. This is called an annual renewal. If your local department of social services (DSS) has all the information to complete your renewal, it will be reviewed automatically. You will get a letter in the mail telling you if you will keep your coverage for another year.

If your renewal cannot be completed automatically, you will get a paper renewal form in the mail. This means you must take action to renew your health coverage.

If you do not complete your renewal, you will lose your Medicaid health coverage.

How to renew coverage

You can renew your health coverage in 1 of these 3 ways:

Online: Go to commonhelp.virginia.gov. Select "Renew my benefits." Read below for how to create an account.
By phone: Call Cover Virginia at 1-855-242-8282 (TTY: 1-888-221-1590).
The call is free.
By mail or in person: Fill out the paper renewal form. Return it to your local DSS.

Renewal Process Flowchart

Renewal Process Flow Sheet Step-By-Step

Renewal Process Flow Sheet- Where are you in the process?

How to return information we ask for

You can return information we ask for to complete your renewal in one of these ways:

Online: Go to commonhelp.virginia.gov.
For more information on how to link your case to your account, read the section below.
By email: Scan, take a picture, or attach electronic copies to an email and send to covervadocs@coverva.org.

How to create an account at Common Help

Go to commonhelp.virginia.gov.
Select "Check my benefits."
To link your case to your Common Help account, you will need your case number and your member ID number. These numbers are on the front of the paper renewal form that came in the mail. You can also call your local DSS and ask for the two numbers.

If you are now in a Federal Health Insurance Marketplace health plan, you need to renew your coverage each year. You can learn about the renewal process or renew your coverage at marketplace.virginia.gov.

What if members lose their coverage?

It is important for all eligible Virginians to get and stay covered. If a member no longer qualifies for health coverage from Virginia Medicaid, they will get:

Notice of when the Medicaid coverage will end,
Information on how to file an appeal if the member thinks our decision was incorrect, and
A referral to the Marketplace and information about buying other health care coverage.

NOTE: Unless a member has died, moved from the state permanently, or requested closure of their case, we cannot close your case unless we ask for updated information prior to making a decision that you are not eligible. It is important to keep your eye out for any mail regarding your health care coverage so that you can return your information on time. If you think you might not stay covered, please return your information anyway so we can look at your situation and send your full information to the Marketplace for a review. If you do not return the information we need to review your case, we cannot automatically send your information to the Marketplace so that they can determine your eligible for that type of coverage or the Advanced Premium Tax Credits.

Questions?

Call Cover Virginia at 1-855-242-8282 (TTY: 1-888-221-1590).