November 1, 2022•Advocacy Matters
Comments Due on Streamlining Medicaid and CHIP Eligibility
Comments Due on Streamlining Medicaid and CHIP Eligibility
Disability Matters with Joyce Bender
Tuesday, November 1, 2022
#AdvocacyMatters Segment
Comments Due on Streamlining Medicaid and CHIP Eligibility
In September, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a notice of proposed rulemaking to simplify the process for eligible individuals to enroll and retain eligibility in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).
CMS has found that there continues to be unnecessary administrative burdens for states and barriers to enrollment and retention of coverage for individuals eligible for Medicaid and CHIP.
Medicaid was established in 1965 to provide free or low-cost health coverage to low-income individuals and families to meet the health care needs of children, pregnant individuals, older adults, and people with disabilities. CHIP was established in Pennsylvania in 1992. The federal CHIP program was signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 1997.
Some progress has been made in simplifying eligibility, reenrollment, and renewal for applicants and enrollees over the years, but more could be done.
For example, the Biden Administration is looking specifically at regulations that do not provide clear timeframes to return information needed by the State to make a determination of eligibility or for States to process and act upon the information received. The result has been unnecessary delays in processing applications and renewals. In addition, as the COVID-19 Medicaid continuous coverage requirements come to an end, there are critical changes that could help reduce coverage losses as states begin acting on eligibility redeterminations for millions of people.
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We encourage individuals to support CMS’ effort to simplify eligibility determinations. The deadline for comments is Monday, November 7. Comments can be submitted at www.regulations.gov. We have a link to the comment section for this proposed rule in our #AdvocacyMatters segment for today. Visit www.disabilityrightspa.org and click on today’s segment for all the information and links to comment on the proposed rule.
Links
Notice of Proposed Rule Making
https://www.regulations.gov/document/CMS-2022-0134-0002
WhyMyCareCounts.org