There have been special COVID rules for Medical Assistance (MA) since March 2020.
Under the COVID rules, MA stayed on even if you did not renew it. On 4/1/2023, the special COVID rules will end.
When your next renewal is due after April 1, 2023, you must renew MA to keep it!
When to renew your MA:
- For most people, your next renewal will be due one year after your last renewal was due. If you had a renewal due in July 2022, your next renewal will be due in July 2023.
- Ninety days before your renewal is due, you will start receiving letters informing you that your renewal is due soon.
- The month before your renewal is due, your paper renewal packet will be mailed to you. The renewal package will tell you when your renewal due date is.
How to submit your renewal:
- Mail your renewal to or drop your renewal off at your local County Assistance Office (CAO). Make a copy & keep a receipt if you can.
- Complete your renewal on COMPASS: www.compass.state.pa.us. Screenshot or print and keep any confirmation pages.
- Complete your renewal by phone: 1-866-550-4355
Make sure you don't miss your renewal:
- Confirm that the CAO knows your address. Call the Customer Service Center (215-560-7226 in Philadelphia, 1-877-395-8930 outside Philadelphia) or use COMPASS (www.compass.state.pa.us) to check your address and report a new address.
- Sign up for text messages on COMPASS (www.compass.state.pa.us). When your renewal is due, you will get a text reminder.
- Report your language needs to the CAO. You can call the Customer Service Center to be sure they have the right “language code” for you, so they know what language they should use when communicating with you.
