NAELA continues to advocate for an extension to the requirement that states must apply Medicaid's spousal impoverishment protections to home and community-based services. The requirement was put in place for a five-year period in the Affordable Care Act. It expires at the end of the year. Representatives Debbie Dingell (D-MI) and Fred Upton (R-MI) recently introduced H.R. 7149, the Protecting Married Seniors from Impoverishment Act, which would make these protections permanent. No final agreement has been made at this time and NAELA remains actively engaged with Congressional staff. CMS guidance noted that for states choosing to drop the protections, they would need to re-determine Medicaid eligibility for all affected couples immediately at the start of the year, if this is allowed to expire.
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