FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, September 23, 2026
Media Contact: press@keepyourcare.org
Keep Your Care will help families navigate new federal requirements, give affected communities a voice in how states implement them and build a coordinated national response to protect Medicaid
Campaign will launch a $2 million paid digital campaign in Georgia, North Carolina, Illinois, Michigan, California, Virginia and New York to reach Medicaid recipients ahead of new requirements
WASHINGTON, DC—With 100 days until new federal Medicaid work and reporting requirements take effect, Caring Across Generations, the Healthcare Education Project, and partners today launched Keep Your Care, a national campaign to help people maintain their coverage, shape state implementation and mobilize families to protect Medicaid and the care they rely on.
Beginning January 1, 2027, between 9.9 and 14.9 million Americans could lose coverage simply because they cannot navigate new paperwork and reporting requirements, threatening access to care and placing even greater strain on families, caregivers and an already stretched care system.
Under new federal requirements enacted as part of H.R. 1, many adults will have to document that they are working, attending school, volunteering or otherwise qualify for an exemption to maintain coverage. For gig workers, people with disabilities, older adults and families already balancing work, caregiving and health needs, a missed notice or confusing form could jeopardize coverage as they navigate new reporting requirements and determine whether they qualify for exemptions.
“Millions of people will still qualify for Medicaid under these new rules, but might still lose their coverage. New paperwork and reporting requirements could cause eligible people to lose the healthcare and long-term care that they rely on, putting even more pressure on families and caregivers because the need for care doesn’t disappear when coverage does,” said Nicole Jorwic, Chief of Advocacy and Campaigns at Caring Across Generations. “We created Keep Your Care to close that gap by helping people understand what they need to do to stay covered, while working to make sure these new requirements are implemented in ways that don’t unnecessarily push eligible people off Medicaid.”
“Keep Your Care is working closely with state Medicaid programs to enhance their outreach to impacted populations in order to raise awareness about this upcoming compliance process and also be a ‘user-friendly’ guide to help working families respond to this twice annual filing requirement,” said Kirk Adams, Senior Advisor at the Healthcare Education Project.
“We are thrilled to join the Keep Your Care campaign to ensure the 80 million Americans who get their healthcare through Medicaid can keep it,” noted Leslie Frane, Executive Vice President with the Service Employees International Union. “Like millions of other working people, hundreds of thousands of SEIU members rely on Medicaid for their families’ care. SEIU members who work in home care, hospitals, and nursing homes understand that their patients and consumers rely on Medicaid. Tens of millions of workers are paid too little to afford care without Medicaid, and the new paperwork requirements in H.R. 1 are explicitly intended to take Medicaid away from millions of them. This means more people will face immoral decisions between paying for healthcare and paying for rent. SEIU is working with partners like Keep Your Care to do what extremist politicians refuse to do: protect healthcare coverage for working Americans everywhere.”
While the new requirements are federal, much of their impact will be determined at the state level. States will decide how those requirements work in practice, from identifying exemptions to verifying compliance and communicating with beneficiaries. Keep Your Care’s state-level work will be focused in Georgia, North Carolina, Illinois, Michigan, California, Virginia and New York. In those states, the campaign will work with partners and affected communities to help people maintain coverage and influence how the new requirements are implemented, from identifying exemptions and verifying compliance to communicating with beneficiaries.
Keep Your Care is also launching a new website to make it easier for eligible people to stay covered. Medicaid recipients can find state-specific information about what is changing, determine what requirements and exemptions may apply to them, track important deadlines and connect with navigators, community organizations and other trusted sources of support.
The website is one part of a broader national and state campaign that will:
- Educate and reach people at risk through national and state-based outreach, a $2,000,000 paid digital campaign, community events, trusted messengers and accessible tools so people understand what is changing before their coverage is on the line.
- Help people maintain their coverage through state-specific information, trained navigators and connections to local organizations and official resources.
- Build a trained network of community support by supporting existing training programs to recruit, train and deploy thousands of community health workers and navigators, expanding the network of trusted, in-person support available in underserved communities.
- Organize and elevate impacted communities by engaging beneficiaries, caregivers and care workers as participants and leaders in the effort to protect Medicaid, including through storytelling, organizing and leadership development.
- Influence state implementation by bringing the experiences of affected communities directly to state officials and policymakers and advocating for policies and administrative approaches that reduce barriers and prevent unnecessary coverage loss.
- Coordinate national and state action by bringing together organizations across healthcare, caregiving, disability, labor, reproductive health and other sectors to share information and align policy, organizing and communications strategies.
- Build long-term power to protect Medicaid by organizing and mobilizing people who rely on Medicaid to defend their coverage and shape future Medicaid policy.
Over the next three years, Keep Your Care will help people navigate the immediate challenges ahead while building the relationships, leadership and coordination needed for the longer term. By bringing together people who rely on Medicaid and connecting their experiences to advocacy across states, the campaign will ensure they have a voice in shaping the future of coverage and care.
About Keep Your Care
Keep Your Care is a national, multi-state campaign led by Caring Across Generations, the Healthcare Education Project, and partners across healthcare, labor, disability, caregiving, reproductive health and community organizations. The campaign combines direct support, public education, organizing, policy advocacy and coordinated national and state action to help people maintain their Medicaid coverage, shape implementation and build long-term power to protect Medicaid. To learn more, visit keepyourcare.org.
About Caring Across Generations
Caring Across Generations is a national organization of families, caregivers, people with disabilities, and aging Americans working to transform the way we care in this country. By harnessing the power of online and grassroots organizing and culture change work, we are shifting how our nation values caregiving and calling for policy solutions that enable all of us to live well, age with dignity and care for ourselves and our loved ones. For more information, please visit http://caringacross.org.
About the Healthcare Education Project
The Healthcare Education Project is a joint initiative of 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East and the Greater New York Hospital Association. The two organizations represent over 450,000 healthcare workers and over 280 not-for-profit hospitals, nursing homes and care providers. The project’s mission is to protect and expand access to quality, affordable healthcare for all New Yorkers.
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