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July 7, 2006

Good News on Medicaid Citizenship Documentation Requirement

Last night, July 6th,   the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued an interim final rule regarding the Medicaid documentation requirements.  The most important change from prior guidance is that individuals who become eligible for Medicaid through SSI and individuals who are dually eligible for Medicaid and Medicare are exempt from the documentation requirements.

Some states do not provide automatic Medicaid eligibility to SSI recipients (CT, HI, IL, IN, MN, MO, NH, ND, OH, OK, and VA).  In these states, individuals on SSI will not be exempt, but these states can choose to use data matches with the State Data Exchange (SDX) database, instead of requiring a birth certificate.  The SDX is an automated data system in which the Social Security Administration shares data about SSI beneficiaries with states, including information on citizenship status.

For further analysis of the regulation visit NAMI’s website.

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