Medicaid Eligibility Verification: Quarterly Checks for Deceased Beneficiaries.
This law mandates that states must check federal death records (Death Master File) every three months to verify that Medicaid recipients are still alive. This measure aims to stop improper payments made after a beneficiary's death, improving program integrity and saving taxpayer money. If an individual is mistakenly disenrolled due to an error, the state must immediately reinstate their coverage retroactively.
Key points
States must perform quarterly checks against the federal Death Master File starting January 1, 2026, to verify Medicaid enrollee status.
If an enrollee is confirmed deceased, the state must immediately stop payments and disenroll the individual from Medicaid.
A safeguard requires immediate, retroactive reenrollment if a person was mistakenly identified as deceased and wrongly removed from the program, ensuring continuous coverage.
Expired
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