The million-plus residents of San Diego currently enrolled in Medi-Cal have not had to reapply for Medi-Cal for the past three years due to a law passed by Congress that prevented states from removing people from their Medicaid rolls during the pandemic.

This law expired on March 31, and as a result, Medi-Cal recipients may face a lapse in coverage if they do not renew their enrollment by June. This means that those who fail to reenroll could lose access to crucial healthcare services.

"We are going to be reaching out in phases to our customers to ensure that, 'hey you should have received a packet and if you didn't receive a packet — contact us and give us your new address,'" said Alberto Banuelos, assistant director of San Diego County's Office of Regional Self-sufficiency.

San Diego County officials stated that renewal time is based on the month when someone first applied for Medi-Cal with renewal applications set to go out later this month for those who registered in June.

The state estimates that up to three million Californias may lose coverage because they no longer qualify, or will miss the reapplying deadline.

San Diego County has set up a hotline for people with questions about the renewal process, especially those who may be doing it for the first time: 1-866-262-9881.