Title: Expanded Coverage for Former Foster Youth Act
Policy area: Health

Summary:
Expanded Coverage for Former Foster Youth Act
This bill modifies certain changes that are scheduled to take effect under the Substance Use-Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment (SUPPORT) for Patients and Communities Act relating to the coverage of former foster youth under Medicaid.
Under current law, a state Medicaid program must cover former foster youth until the age of 26 if the youth were in the state's foster care system at the age of 18 and were enrolled in the state's Medicaid program while in foster care; a state may choose to also cover former foster youth from other states. The SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act altered these provisions to require a state Medicaid program to cover former foster youth from other states until the age of 26; such changes apply to former foster youth who reach the age of 18 on or after January 1, 2023.
The bill requires state Medicaid programs to also cover former foster youth who were placed in a legal guardianship with a kinship caregiver or were emancipated from foster care before the age of 18. The bill also repeals the provision that requires former foster youth to have been enrolled in a state Medicaid program while in foster care in order to qualify for Medicaid coverage until the age of 26. States must also establish Medicaid outreach and enrollment programs for former foster youth.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1698 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1698

   To amend title XIX of the Social Security Act and the SUPPORT for 
   Patients and Communities Act to ensure health insurance coverage 
                  continuity for former foster youth.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              June 3, 2019

   Mr. Casey introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
                  referred to the Committee on Finance

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend title XIX of the Social Security Act and the SUPPORT for 
   Patients and Communities Act to ensure health insurance coverage 
                  continuity for former foster youth.

    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 ``Expanded Coverage for Former Foster 
Youth Act''.

SEC. 2. COVERAGE CONTINUITY FOR FORMER FOSTER CARE CHILDREN UP TO AGE 
              26.

    (a) In General.--Section 1002(a)(1)(B) of the SUPPORT for Patients 
and Communities Act (Public Law 115-271) is amended by striking all 
that follows after ``item (cc),'' and inserting the following: ``by 
striking `responsibility of the State' and all that follows through 
`475(8)(B)(iii); and' and inserting `responsibility of a State on the 
date of attaining 18 years of age (or such higher age as such State has 
elected under section 475(8)(B)(iii)), or who were in such care at any 
age but subsequently left such care to enter into a legal guardianship 
with a kinship caregiver (without regard to whether kinship 
guardianship payments are being made on behalf of the child under this 
part) or were emancipated from such care prior to attaining age 18;'''.
    (b) Amendments to Social Security Act.--
            (1) In general.--Section 1902(a)(10)(A)(i)(IX) of the 
        Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396a(a)(10)(A)(i)(IX)), as 
        amended by section 1002(a) of the SUPPORT for Patients and 
        Communities Act (Public Law 115-271), is amended--
                    (A) in item (bb), by striking the semicolon at the 
                end and inserting ``; and''; and
                    (B) by striking item (dd).
            (2) Effective date.--The amendments made by this subsection 
        shall take effect on January 1, 2023.

SEC. 3. OUTREACH EFFORTS FOR ENROLLMENT OF FORMER FOSTER CHILDREN.

    Section 1902(a) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396a(a)) is 
amended--
            (1) in paragraph (85), by striking ``; and'' and inserting 
        a semicolon;
            (2) in paragraph (86), by striking the period at the end 
        and inserting ``; and''; and
            (3) by inserting after paragraph (86) the following new 
        paragraph:
            ``(87) not later than January 1, 2020, establish an 
        outreach and enrollment program, in coordination with the State 
        agency responsible for administering the State plan under part 
        E of title IV and any other appropriate or interested agencies, 
        designed to increase the enrollment of individuals who are 
        eligible for medical assistance under the State plan under 
        paragraph (10)(A)(i)(IX) in accordance with best practices 
        established by the Secretary.''.
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