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COMAR 10.09.24.05

507

State of Maryland Medical Assistance Manual Revised July 2012

500.4 Verification of Citizenship and Identity Individuals declaring to be a U.S. citizen or national must now provide satisfactory documentation of citizenship and identity as a condition of eligibility for Medical Assistance (MA) or the Maryland Children's Health Program (MCHP) (see exceptions below). Before requesting this documentation, the applicant's or recipient's eligibility CM should check the individual's case record to see if the required documentation is already on file, because it only has to be provided once. The requirements of the federal Deficit Reduction Act (DRA) of 2005 apply to all MA and MCHP applicants and recipients who declare that they are U.S. citizens by birth or naturalization, with the following exceptions. Documentation of U.S. citizenship and identity is not required if the individual is a: Recipient of Supplemental Security Income (SSI) (in LO I, S02, and any other coverage group with SSI beneficiaries) Recipient of Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits under section 223 or section 202 of the Social Security Act Child in Foster Care or Subsidized Adoptions under Title IV part E (EO I or E02), Child for whom child welfare services are made available under Title IV-B on the basis of being a child in foster care. Newborn, automatically eligible, (P03 and P 12 applicants made eligible through the DHMH 1184 process), whose mother was enrolled in or determined eligible for, MA or MCHP for the date of birth. Pregnant woman who is determined automatically eligible by the provider's attestation through the Accelerated Certification of Eligibility (ACE) process (certain P02 and PI I applicants), or Medicare eligible individual or Medicare recipient (in S03, S07, S14, and any other coverage group with Medicare eligibles). Aliens: This new law does not affect the" existing process by which qualified aliens verify their qualified legal status, nor does it apply to refugees and others covered in the G-track, or undocumented or ineligible aliens requesting emergency medical services only (coverage group X02).

Therefore, the verification requirements for citizenship and identity apply to all other Medical Care Program coverage groups for which there is federal matching, including all MA coverage groups, all MCHP and MCHP Premium coverage group (except P03 or P12), TCA, PAA, TDAP if they qualify for MA or the Primary Adult Care Program, Women’s Breast and Cervical Cancer Health Program, Waivers, and the Employed Individuals with Disabilities Program (EID). Documentation of citizenship and identity is required just once for MA or MCHP eligibility and then becomes part of the individual’s permanent case record. Self attestation of citizenship and identity is no longer acceptable. If the documents presented by the customer are determined to be counterfeit, altered, or inconsistent with pre existing information, the case should be referred to DHMH’s Program Integrity Unit for an investigation of potential fraud or abuse.