H.R. 259

Medicaid Extenders Act of 2019

This bill alters several Medicaid programs and funding mechanisms.

(Sec. 2) The bill makes appropriations for FY2019 for, and otherwise revises, the Money Follows the Person Rebalancing Demonstration Program. (Under this program, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services may award grants to state Medicaid programs to assist states in increasing the use of home and community care for long-term care and decreasing the use of institutional care.)

(Sec. 3) Additionally, the bill temporarily extends the applicability of Medicaid eligibility criteria that protect against spousal impoverishment for recipients of home and community-based services.

(Sec. 4) The bill reduces the federal medical assistance percentage (i.e., federal matching rate) for states that have not implemented asset-verification programs for determining Medicaid eligibility.

(Sec. 5) The bill also reduces funding available to the Medicaid Improvement Fund beginning in FY2021.