Ignoring a renewal notice can end your New Hampshire Medicaid coverage even if you still qualify. New Hampshire Medicaid renewal runs on a federal clock: the law (42 CFR 435.916) requires the state to try to renew your coverage automatically from data it already holds before it ever asks you for paperwork, but when a form does reach you, it has to come back on time. This guide explains how the recertification and renewal cycle works, what to do when your renewal packet arrives, the 90-day window to recover if you miss the deadline, and the move to 6-month renewals for Granite Advantage adults starting in 2027.

Renew online at NH EASY or call the DHHS Customer Service Center at 1-844-275-3447.

In This Guide

Recertification and renewal is the most consequential operational moment in any beneficiary's relationship with the Medicaid program. Eligibility is set once at initial application, but under 42 CFR 435.916 it is redetermined at least every 12 months thereafter, and a missed renewal can end coverage in New Hampshire even for someone who still qualifies. When a renewal closes for procedural reasons, the person usually remained eligible and simply did not return the form in time, which is what the 90-day reconsideration window below is designed to fix.

In New Hampshire, Medicaid is administered by the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), the single state Medicaid agency.

The New Hampshire Medicaid renewal cycle

Under 42 CFR 435.916, the state Medicaid agency must redetermine eligibility at least every 12 months. That yearly review is a minimum, not a ceiling: for coverage based on age, blindness, disability, or long-term care, DHHS may redetermine more often. Your renewal period is set when you are first approved and recurs on the same schedule each year. One exception is now on the calendar: adults enrolled through the Granite Advantage expansion group move to a 6-month cycle for renewals scheduled on or after January 1, 2027, covered in the Granite Advantage section below.

Renewals split into two procedural paths depending on eligibility category:

  • MAGI populations (children, pregnant women, parent and caretaker relatives, and Granite Advantage expansion adults age 19 through 64 at or below 133 percent of the federal poverty level, or 138 percent once the standard 5-percentage-point income disregard is applied) are renewed using Modified Adjusted Gross Income methodology. Income is verified through federal and state electronic data sources, including Social Security and IRS records and state wage data.
  • Non-MAGI populations (aged, blind, and disabled adults, nursing-facility and Choices for Independence waiver recipients, and Medicare Savings Program members) are renewed under rules that include an asset test. The state must still attempt an ex parte renewal, but because federal law requires every state to verify assets at renewal through an Asset Verification System (Section 1940 of the Social Security Act), non-MAGI renewals clear automatically far less often and usually require the beneficiary to submit bank statements, retirement-account statements, and a signed asset-verification authorization.

Ex parte New Hampshire Medicaid renewal: the federal mandate

The single most important federal rule in modern Medicaid renewal is the ex parte default at 42 CFR 435.916(a)(2). Before DHHS asks a beneficiary for any information at renewal, it must make a redetermination of eligibility without requiring information from the individual whenever it can do so from reliable information already in the person's account or otherwise available to the agency, including electronic data sources. Only when the agency cannot renew on that basis may it request information from the enrollee.

If the data confirm that the beneficiary remains within the income threshold for their eligibility category and that household composition has not changed, the renewal is processed automatically, and the beneficiary receives a notice that coverage continues with no signature or response required if the information on it is accurate.

When ex parte renewal cannot confirm eligibility, DHHS has to come back to the beneficiary for what is missing. If your eligibility is based on MAGI, federal law requires DHHS to send a renewal form containing the information the agency already has and to give you at least 30 days from the date of the renewal form to respond, provide any missing information, and sign the form. The clock runs from the date printed on the form, not the day it arrives. If you qualify on the basis of age, disability, long-term services and supports, a Medicare Savings Program, or another non-MAGI pathway, federal rules let New Hampshire follow those same renewal procedures, including the 90-day reconsideration below, but do not require it, so ask DHHS what applies to you. Common reasons ex parte fails:

  • Income that does not show up in wage databases, such as self-employment, gig work, or seasonal earnings
  • The asset-verification step for aged, blind, disabled, and long-term-care cases, which automated income data cannot complete on its own
  • Household changes such as a new baby, a child moving out, marriage, or divorce
  • Income near a threshold, where a small data discrepancy triggers a manual review

How to renew New Hampshire Medicaid: NH EASY and other channels

Under 42 CFR 435.916, a renewal may be submitted through any of the modes of application the agency offers, and the agency may not require an in-person interview. In New Hampshire the fastest and most reliable channel is online through NH EASY, the state's electronic eligibility portal.

Channel Method Notes
Online nheasy.nh.gov Fastest; view your case, upload documents, update your address, and submit the renewal
Phone DHHS Customer Service Center, 1-844-275-3447 Monday through Friday; also used to request a replacement packet
Paper Form 800 (Application for Assistance) at a DHHS District Office Mail or drop off at your local office

If you have an NH EASY account from your initial application, use it to renew and to keep your contact information current; if not, create one or renew by phone or on paper. For a full walk-through, see how to apply for New Hampshire Medicaid.

The 90-day New Hampshire Medicaid reconsideration window

If your coverage closed because you missed the renewal paperwork, you usually do not have to start over with a new application, and many families never learn that before they reapply from scratch.

Under 42 CFR 435.916, if a beneficiary loses Medicaid for failure to return the renewal form or necessary information (a procedural termination, not an eligibility-based one), the agency must reconsider eligibility and treat the late-returned form as the renewal if the beneficiary submits it within 90 days of the termination, without requiring a new application. That duty is federal for MAGI-based coverage and a state option for the non-MAGI pathways above, so ask DHHS. The federal rule guarantees the reconsideration itself; whether restored coverage reaches back to the closure date is set by state policy, so confirm the effective date of any reinstatement with DHHS.

The 90-day clock starts on the termination date, not the date of the notice, so read your closure notice carefully. Which closures qualify is set out in the table below.

To use the window, resubmit the renewal through NH EASY, by phone at 1-844-275-3447, or on paper. If you no longer have the form, call DHHS or log into NH EASY to request a replacement, and note the closure date when you submit so your case is routed correctly.

Granite Advantage and the move to 6-month renewals

New Hampshire has adopted the Affordable Care Act Medicaid expansion, which it operates as the Granite Advantage Health Care Program, covering adults age 19 through 64 with household income at or below 133 percent of the federal poverty level under MAGI rules, or 138 percent once the standard 5-percentage-point income disregard is applied. Because New Hampshire is an expansion state, a federal change to renewal frequency reaches Granite Advantage adults directly.

Section 71107 of the 2025 federal budget-reconciliation law (H.R.1, Public Law 119-21) requires states to redetermine eligibility once every 6 months, rather than every 12 months, for the ACA expansion-adult population, for renewals scheduled on or after January 1, 2027. Its only exemption covers an Indian or Urban Indian as defined in the Indian Health Care Improvement Act, a California Indian, and anyone otherwise determined eligible as an Indian for the Indian Health Service. All other beneficiaries stay on the standard 12-month cycle. The practical effect: Granite Advantage adults face the renewal touchpoint twice as often.

The same 2025 law also shortens retroactive eligibility for applications filed on or after January 1, 2027, to two months before the application month for most enrollees and one month for the expansion group, down from the three-month default that still applies through 2026.

Children's 12-month continuous eligibility

Section 5112 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 requires every state to give children under age 19 enrolled in Medicaid or CHIP 12 months of continuous eligibility from the date of enrollment, effective January 1, 2024. If a parent loses Medicaid mid-year because household income rose, the children stay covered until their next annual renewal.

Limited exceptions allow mid-year termination: the child turns 19, moves out of state, dies, the family voluntarily disenrolls, or there is fraud. Report income changes accurately anyway: it protects you from later fraud allegations, and your children keep coverage through their 12-month period.

Pregnant women and 12-month postpartum coverage

Federal law gives states a permanent option to extend Medicaid and CHIP coverage for a full 12 months after the end of pregnancy, replacing the historic 60-day postpartum window, with full benefits throughout. If you were enrolled while pregnant, ask DHHS how long your postpartum coverage runs and when your annual renewal cycle resumes.

Long-term care and Choices for Independence renewals: two reviews

If you receive New Hampshire Medicaid long-term care, whether in a nursing facility or through the Choices for Independence (CFI) waiver, the renewal has two independent components, and both must stay current.

Financial redetermination

DHHS reviews income and assets at least every 12 months, including the asset check that federal law requires the state to run at renewal through the Asset Verification System. New Hampshire's long-term-care income cap for 2026 is $2,982 per month for a single applicant, the federal 300 percent SSI special income level, used for nursing-facility care, home and community-based services, and the CFI waiver. The countable-resource limit is $2,500 for one individual and $4,000 for two, above the federal SSI resource limit; the home you live in, household furniture, and some vehicles are not counted. A resident of a nursing facility, community residence, or residential care facility, including a CFI recipient, keeps a personal needs allowance of $90 per month, and the rest of their income is applied to the cost of care.

Level-of-care reassessment

Because CFI is a federal Section 1915(c) waiver administered by the DHHS Bureau of Adult and Aging Services, the nursing-facility level-of-care determination is a required eligibility evaluation in addition to the financial criteria, and the waiver has a limited number of enrollment slots rather than being an open-ended entitlement. The two reviews are independent: a beneficiary can pass the financial redetermination and fail the level-of-care reassessment, or the reverse. If level of care is no longer met, long-term-care Medicaid ends, but the person may continue on standard Medicaid if otherwise eligible. For the full framework, see New Hampshire Medicaid long-term care and the New Hampshire Medicaid HCBS waivers guide.

Applicants whose income sits above the cap but who cannot cover their medical bills may qualify through New Hampshire's medically-needy pathway, which the state calls In and Out Medical Assistance. It lets an applicant spend down countable income to a state-set standard by incurring medical expenses; the specific standard is set by the state and changes over time.

Returned mail and keeping your address current

The federal rules that once required an agency to search for a new address before acting on mail that comes back as undeliverable were removed from the Code of Federal Regulations effective July 31, 2026. Federal law now says only that an agency may act without advance notice when mail returns with no forwarding address and your whereabouts are unknown, and that coverage must be reinstated if your whereabouts become known while you are still eligible. New Hampshire may still have its own returned-mail procedures, so call DHHS if you think your renewal mail went to an old address.

New Hampshire delivers most Medicaid through its managed care program, Medicaid Care Management, and as of 2026 there are three Medicaid Health Plans: AmeriHealth Caritas New Hampshire, NH Healthy Families, and WellSense Health Plan. That gives you two places to keep your address right, and both are worth doing:

  • Update your address in NH EASY as soon as you move
  • Call DHHS Customer Service at 1-844-275-3447
  • Update your address with your Medicaid Health Plan
  • File a change-of-address form with the post office

Procedural vs eligibility-based termination

This distinction determines whether you have a 90-day reconsideration window under 42 CFR 435.916 or whether you must file a new application.

Termination type Definition Reconsideration available?
Procedural Failure to return the renewal form, missing signature, no documentation provided, or no response to a request for information Yes; 90 days from the termination date
Eligibility-based DHHS determined you no longer meet income, residency, citizenship, age, disability, or other categorical criteria No; you must file a new application

When you receive a termination notice, read the stated reason. Wording such as "failure to provide requested information" or "no response to renewal" points to the 90-day window. Wording that references an income calculation, an asset limit, or a categorical change means your remedy is a new application, an appeal, or both.

Fair hearing rights in New Hampshire

If your renewal is denied or your coverage is terminated, you have a federal right to a fair hearing under Section 1902(a)(3) of the Social Security Act and 42 CFR 431.220. Federal law caps the request window at 90 days from the date the notice is mailed. That is a ceiling on what a state may allow, not a floor you are owed: a shorter state deadline binds you, so go by the date on your notice.

New Hampshire's window is shorter. DHHS routes Medicaid appeals through its Administrative Appeals Unit (AAU), an in-agency unit it describes as independent of its program offices, and directs that an appeal generally be filed within 30 days from the date on the Notice of Decision. Do not wait. You can appeal in writing using the DHHS Appeal Request form or a letter, submitted at a District Office, mailed to the AAU, or emailed to the unit; if you cannot complete the form, you can start an appeal by telling a DHHS representative you want to appeal.

Continued benefits during the appeal are available on a tighter clock than the appeal itself. DHHS states that if you appeal within 15 days of the date on the Notice of Decision, you may be able to keep your benefits at the same level until a decision is issued, implementing the federal continuation-of-benefits right at 42 CFR 431.230., There is a cost if you lose: if the Department's action is upheld, the continued benefits must be repaid. If your denial came from your Medicaid Health Plan rather than DHHS, you must complete the plan's own appeal before you can reach a state fair hearing. For the full appeal process, including the managed-care steps, see New Hampshire Medicaid appeals and fair hearings.

Applicants who declare U.S. citizenship or a satisfactory immigration status that the agency cannot promptly verify are entitled to a reasonable opportunity period, generally ending the earlier of verification or 90 days, during which benefits are not delayed, denied, reduced, or terminated for someone otherwise eligible.

Common New Hampshire Medicaid renewal mistakes

  1. Ignoring the renewal notice because the envelope looks like junk mail. Pull anything from DHHS or NH EASY out of the mail pile and open it right away.
  2. Assuming ex parte will handle everything. Automatic renewal succeeds for only a portion of cases; the rest require the form back by the deadline printed on it.
  3. Updating your address with Social Security or your health plan but not with DHHS. Update it in NH EASY, and with your Medicaid Health Plan, so the agency has current contact information.
  4. Not knowing the 90-day reconsideration window exists. A procedural closure can be reconsidered without a new application if you return the form within 90 days.
  5. Missing the asset-verification signature for aged, blind, disabled, or long-term-care renewals. Without your authorization, DHHS cannot run the required bank-record check and the renewal stalls.
  6. Assuming children lose coverage when a parent does. Children under 19 keep coverage for their full 12-month continuous-eligibility period regardless of family income changes.

Frequently Asked Questions

How often do I have to renew New Hampshire Medicaid?

At least once every 12 months, on a schedule tied to your initial approval. Under 42 CFR 435.916 that annual review is a minimum for aged, blind, disabled, and long-term-care coverage, so one can come sooner. One change is coming: Granite Advantage expansion adults move to a 6-month cycle for renewals scheduled on or after January 1, 2027.

What happens if I miss my New Hampshire Medicaid renewal deadline?

Your coverage closes at the end of your renewal period. If the closure was procedural, you did not return paperwork or respond to a request, you have a 90-day reconsideration window to submit the renewal and be reconsidered without a new application (required federally for MAGI-based coverage; a state option otherwise). If you miss the 90 days, you must file a new application through NH EASY.

Where do I renew my New Hampshire Medicaid?

The fastest method is online at nheasy.nh.gov. You can also call the DHHS Customer Service Center at 1-844-275-3447 or return the paper Form 800 to a DHHS District Office.

My child is on Medicaid. If my income goes up mid-year, does my child lose coverage?

No. Under federal continuous-eligibility rules, mandatory since January 1, 2024, children under 19 have 12 months of continuous eligibility from the date of enrollment. Even if your income rises above the threshold, your child keeps coverage until the next annual renewal, with narrow exceptions such as aging out at 19, moving out of state, or fraud.

Can I appeal if my renewal is denied, and how long do I have?

Yes. Federal law lets a state allow at most 90 days from the mailing of the notice, and New Hampshire's is shorter: generally 30 days from the date on the Notice of Decision. That 30-day deadline is the one that binds you., If you appeal within 15 days, your benefits may continue until a decision is issued, though they must be repaid if the Department's action is upheld.

My renewal mail was returned. Will New Hampshire close my case automatically?

Federal law no longer answers that question. The rules that once required an agency to search for a new address before acting on returned mail were removed from the Code of Federal Regulations effective July 31, 2026. What federal law still says is narrower: an agency may act without advance notice when mail returns with no forwarding address and your whereabouts are unknown, and coverage must be reinstated if your whereabouts become known while you are still eligible. New Hampshire may still have its own returned-mail procedures, so ask DHHS what they are, and update your address in NH EASY as soon as you can.

Why does my long-term-care renewal need bank statements?

Aged, blind, disabled, and long-term-care Medicaid have an asset limit, and federal law requires the state to verify your assets at renewal through an Asset Verification System, which automated income data cannot do on its own. For 2026, New Hampshire's countable-resource limit is $2,500 for one individual and $4,000 for two.

New Hampshire Medicaid renewal: where to get help

Whether you need to complete your annual renewal, recover coverage you lost in the past 90 days, or appeal a termination, these are the offices that can help. Renew or check your case status in NH EASY, or reach DHHS by phone at 1-844-275-3447.

NH EASY Renew online, upload documents, update your address, and check case status. nheasy.nh.gov
DHHS Customer Service Center Renewals by phone, replacement packets, and address updates. 1-844-275-3447
DHHS Administrative Appeals Unit Requests for a Medicaid fair hearing after a denial or termination. 603-271-4292 or 800-852-3345https://www.dhhs.nh.gov/doing-business-dhhs/legal-services/administrative-appeals

Brevy's guides to New Hampshire Medicaid eligibility and income limits and the New Hampshire Medicaid hub cover the broader eligibility picture, and the Medicaid by state directory links every state's renewal and eligibility guides.

Learn More

MedicaidNew Hampshire Medicaid hubSee who New Hampshire Medicaid covers, the 2026 income and asset limits, the Choices for Independence home-care waiver, and how to apply through NH EASY. MedicaidHow to apply for New Hampshire MedicaidHow to apply for New Hampshire Medicaid in 2026: the three ways to apply, what documents to bring, the decision timeline, and the over-income pathway. MedicaidNew Hampshire Medicaid eligibility and income limitsNew Hampshire Medicaid eligibility and 2026 income limits: expansion adults, the long-term-care income cap and asset limit, and the over-income pathway. MedicaidNew Hampshire Medicaid appeals and fair hearingsAppeal a New Hampshire Medicaid denial or termination: the 30-day deadline, how to keep benefits during the appeal, and how to request a fair hearing. MedicaidNew Hampshire Medicaid long-term careNew Hampshire Medicaid pays for long-term care in a nursing home or at home through the Choices for Independence waiver. See the 2026 income and asset limits. MedicaidNew Hampshire Medicaid HCBS waiversNew Hampshire Medicaid HCBS waivers pay for home care through the Choices for Independence (CFI) waiver. See who qualifies, what CFI covers, and how to apply.

Find personalized help renewing your New Hampshire Medicaid coverage at brevy.com.

The information on Brevy.com is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional legal, financial, or medical advice. Rules vary by state and program and change frequently. Always verify with the relevant agency or a qualified professional. Brevy is not a law firm, financial advisor, or healthcare provider.

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