Pennsylvania Medicaid recipients between 19 and 64 may be getting automated phone calls from 877-839-4782, and the state has named that number as its own. The Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (DHS) is using calls, text messages and letters to warn about a federal work requirement that starts for Medicaid applications received in January 2027.
In a September 10 announcement, DHS said nearly 700,000 Pennsylvanians on Medicaid would begin receiving letters that week. The letter is the first in a series, followed by automated calls and text messages starting in mid-September. Calls are labeled “PA DHS 877-839-4782” and texts come from “PA DHS 69217.”
The people the rules reach are some Medicaid recipients and applicants ages 19 to 64 who do not have a dependent child under 14. For them the question is what has to be done, and by when. Applicants face the rule beginning with January 2027 applications, and current recipients face it with renewals due after January 2027.
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What is the work requirement?
DHS says affected recipients must complete at least 80 hours a month of qualifying activity, alone or in combination. The activities named in the announcement are work, volunteer or community service, a job training program, and school at least half-time.
The rule applies to adults on Medicaid through the expansion, not coverage based on disability or health status. Recipients who must meet the requirement but do not comply and report to DHS, the department says, will lose Medicaid coverage. The announcement does not lay out the reporting steps; DHS points readers to its Medicaid changes page for them.
Who may not have to meet it?
The department says people whose household monthly income is at least $580 may not need to meet the new work requirements. The word “may” is DHS’s own, so income alone does not settle the question for every household.
DHS lists several exemption groups: parents or caretakers who meet certain criteria, people who are currently or recently pregnant, people already subject to a SNAP or TANF work requirement, and people with certain health conditions or medical needs. The full list sits on the department’s Medicaid changes page, and the exact criteria for caretakers and medical needs are set there.
How can a recipient tell a real call from a scam?
Automated calls about benefits are a favorite cover for scammers, so the numbers matter. DHS says its automated calls come from 877-839-4782 and its texts from 69217, and the outreach started in mid-September, after the letter. A call or text from another number that claims to be DHS and asks for a Social Security number, a card number or a payment does not match what the department has announced.
The announcement lists one phone number, 717-425-7606, but it is for press inquiries only and not for recipients. A recipient who wants to confirm a call should use the contact information in the DHS letter or on the department’s Medicaid changes page.
What else changes in 2027?
Renewals will come twice as often for the affected group. DHS says that beginning in 2027, Medicaid renewals for these recipients will take place every six months instead of every year, and after a current recipient’s first renewal in 2027 they must begin renewing every six months.
The open question for the nearly 700,000 people getting letters is who falls inside the 19-to-64 group without a child under 14, and which of them can show the 80 hours or an exemption when a renewal arrives. The department’s letters, calls and texts are meant to answer that before January.
Not sure if the Pennsylvania work rule applies?
A Pennsylvania recipient who ignores the letter, the calls and the texts, or who cannot show 80 hours or an exemption at renewal, is the person DHS says will lose Medicaid coverage. Renewals every six months leave less room to fix a missed notice.
The SNAP & Medicaid Renewal Organizer covers the new Medicaid work requirement and who is exempt, and it comes with a renewal and reporting calendar and a renewal document checklist so each date is written down. It also includes 51 state packs.
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This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.
