Federal officials on Tuesday began contacting states to flag individuals who might not qualify for Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program due to their immigration status, part of what the Trump administration described as an “oversight initiative.”
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, or CMS, announced that it plans to provide states with “monthly enrollment reports” identifying people whose citizenship or immigration status could not be confirmed using federal databases. State governments will then be responsible for verifying eligibility and taking action, including by altering coverage, CMS said.
The new effort could require state Medicaid agencies to take on additional strain at a time when many are preparing for major impacts from the federal reconciliation law, including new work requirements and limits on provider taxes. The Congressional Budget Office has estimated the suite of changes could result in 10 million people losing coverage.
U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. described the new monthly reporting as a way to prevent Medicaid abuse, saying the administration is “tightening oversight of enrollment to safeguard taxpayer dollars and guarantee that these vital programs serve only those who are truly eligible under the law.”
“Every dollar misspent is a dollar taken away from an eligible, vulnerable individual in need of Medicaid and CHIP,” added CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz. “This action underscores our unwavering commitment to program integrity, safeguarding taxpayer dollars, and ensuring benefits are strictly reserved for those eligible under the law.”
In Massachusetts, Medicaid and CHIP are combined into MassHealth, which serves roughly 2 million people and is the single largest area of spending in the state budget.
A day after the Trump administration announced its new approach, a spokesperson for the Executive Office of Health and Human Services on Wednesday said Massachusetts had “not yet received any direct communication from CMS on this issue.”
“We will continue to work diligently to follow state and federal laws regarding Medicaid coverage,” spokesperson Stacey Nee said.
MassHealth typically verifies immigration status while determining a member’s eligibility. Undocumented immigrants are not eligible for Medicaid or CHIP, according to nonprofit health policy organization KFF.
