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7.2 Verifying U.S. Citizenship 7.2.1 Citizenship Verification Introduction U.S. citizenship must be verified for persons applying for or receiving Medicaid (MA), BadgerCare Plus, or FPOS benefits and who have declared that they are a U.S. citizen, unless they are exempt from this requirement (see SECTION 7.2.1.2 EXEMPT POPULATIONS). Citizenship verification for health care must first be attempted using the real-time data exchanges with the Social Security Administration, birth record query, and Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) before requesting documentation of citizenship from applicants. (See SECTION 7.2.3 U.S. CITIZENSHIP VERIFICATION THROUGH THE SOCIAL SECURITY (SSA) DATA EXCHANGE). Only those who are not exempt and for whom verification was not available through a data exchange may be required to submit documentation of their citizenship (see SECTION 7.2.4 OTHER METHODS OF CITIZENSHIP VERIFICATION). Once citizenship has been verified for a person, verification may never again be required to receive health care benefits unless previously verified information becomes questionable. 7.2.1.1 Covered Programs The U.S. citizenship verification requirement applies to all non-exempt applicants and members of the following programs: • BadgerCare Plus (except for the Prenatal Program and Emergency Services) • Medicaid (except for Emergency Services) • Katie Beckett Medicaid • Tuberculosis (TB)-related Medicaid • Wisconsin Well Woman Medicaid (WWWMA) If U.S. citizenship has been verified for any of these programs, U.S. citizenship is considered verified for all programs. 7.2.1.2 Exempt Populations The following populations are exempt from the U.S. citizenship verification requirement: • Anyone who receives or previously received Social Security Disability Insurance SSDI, Disabled Adult Child (SSDC), or Disabled Widow(er)'s benefits • Anyone who receives or previously received Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits • Anyone entitled to or enrolled in Medicare • Anyone who receives Foster Care Medicaid (FSTMA), which includes Adoption Assistance, or previously received Title IV-E FSTMA • Anyone who has been eligible for Wisconsin Medicaid or BadgerCare Plus as a Continuously Eligible Newborn (CEN) at any time on or after July 1, 2006 (including CENs born on or after July 1, 2005) • Anyone not claiming to be a U.S. citizen Identity verification is only required in certain situations as part of citizenship verification. Persons not applying for or receiving any health care benefits and persons who are not claiming to be a U.S. citizen are not required to verify identity (see SECTION 7.2.4.3 EVIDENCE OF IDENTITY). Data exchanges must be used to verify current or previous receipt of SSI, SSDI, SSDC, FSTMA, and Medicare prior to requesting verification from the recipient.