Title: Protecting Married Seniors from Impoverishment Act
Policy area: Health

Summary:
Protecting Married Seniors from Impoverishment Act
This bill makes permanent certain provisions regarding Medicaid eligibility that protect against spousal impoverishment for recipients of home and community-based services. Under current law, these provisions expire on December 31, 2018.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7149 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 7149

      To amend title XIX of the Social Security Act to remove an 
institutional bias by making permanent the protection for recipients of 
   home and community-based services against spousal impoverishment.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           November 16, 2018

Mrs. Dingell (for herself and Mr. Upton) introduced the following bill; 
       which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
      To amend title XIX of the Social Security Act to remove an 
institutional bias by making permanent the protection for recipients of 
   home and community-based services against spousal impoverishment.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Protecting Married Seniors from 
Impoverishment Act''.

SEC. 2. MAKING PERMANENT THE PROTECTION UNDER MEDICAID FOR RECIPIENTS 
              OF HOME AND COMMUNITY-BASED SERVICES AGAINST SPOUSAL 
              IMPOVERISHMENT.

    (a) In General.--Section 1924(h)(1)(A) of the Social Security Act 
(42 U.S.C. 1396r-5(h)(1)(A)) is amended by striking ``(at the option of 
the State) is described in section 1902(a)(10)(A)(ii)(VI)'' and 
inserting the following: ``before January 1, 2019, at the option of the 
State, is described in section 1902(a)(10)(A)(ii)(VI), or, beginning 
January 1, 2019, is eligible for medical assistance for home and 
community-based services provided under subsection (c), (d), or (i) of 
section 1915, under a waiver approved under section 1115, or who is 
eligible for such medical assistance by reason of being determined 
eligible under section 1902(a)(10)(C) or by reason of section 1902(f) 
or otherwise on the basis of a reduction of income based on costs 
incurred for medical or other remedial care, or who is eligible for 
medical assistance for home and community-based attendant services and 
supports under section 1915(k)''.
    (b) Construction.--
            (1) Protecting state spousal income and asset disregard 
        flexibility under waivers and plan amendments.--Nothing in 
        section 2404 of Public Law 111-148 (42 U.S.C. 1395r-5) or 
        section 1924 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396r-5) 
        shall be construed as prohibiting a State from disregarding an 
        individual's spousal income and assets under a State waiver or 
        plan amendment described in paragraph (2) for purposes of 
        making determinations of eligibility for home and community-
        based services or home and community-based attendant services 
        and supports under such waiver or plan amendment.
            (2) State waiver or plan amendment described.--A State 
        waiver or plan amendment described in this paragraph is any of 
        the following:
                    (A) A waiver or plan amendment to provide medical 
                assistance for home and community-based services under 
                a waiver or plan amendment under subsection (c), (d), 
                or (i) of section 1915 of the Social Security Act (42 
                U.S.C. 1396n) or under section 1115 of such Act (42 
                U.S.C. 1315).
                    (B) A plan amendment to provide medical assistance 
                for home and community-based services for individuals 
                by reason of being determined eligible under section 
                1902(a)(10)(C) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1396a(a)(10)(C)) 
                or by reason of section 1902(f) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 
                1396a(f)) or otherwise on the basis of a reduction of 
                income based on costs incurred for medical or other 
                remedial care under which the State disregarded the 
                income and assets of the individual's spouse in 
                determining the initial and ongoing financial 
                eligibility of an individual for such services in place 
                of the spousal impoverishment provisions applied under 
                section 1924 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1396r-5).
                    (C) A plan amendment to provide medical assistance 
                for home and community-based attendant services and 
                supports under section 1915(k) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 
                1396n(k)).
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