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Page 9 – State Health Official Letter immigration status that confers full Medicaid and CHIP benefits. States must attempt to redetermine satisfactory immigration status without the involvement of the beneficiary, if possible, and must contact the beneficiary if they are unable to reverify the satisfactory immigration status without additional information, consistent with 42 C.F.R. §§ 435.952(a)-(d) and 457.380(f). When addressing this statutory change, states must first attempt to identify all potentially affected beneficiaries (i.e., beneficiaries enrolled in and receiving full Medicaid or CHIP benefits who are not U.S. citizens or U.S. nationals, and whose immigration status or category is not LPR, Cuban/Haitian entrant, or COFA migrant, or who are not lawfully residing children or pregnant women in states that have elected the CHIPRA 214 option).38 Once the state identifies the potentially affected beneficiaries, the state must redetermine eligibility based on available information, if possible. States must first attempt to reverify a beneficiary’s satisfactory immigration status through electronic data sources (i.e., Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS’s) Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) program39) before attempting to contact the beneficiary. If the state is unable to verify a beneficiary’s satisfactory immigration status electronically, the state must request information from the beneficiary in accordance with 42 C.F.R. §§ 435.952(c)-(d) and 457.380(f) and give the beneficiary a reasonable period of time to provide information prior to the state taking adverse action.40 The state must consider all information and documentation submitted by the beneficiary as the state redetermines eligibility. If the beneficiary responds with additional information about their current immigration status, including a new declaration of satisfactory immigration status, and the state is unable to verify such status, the state must provide the beneficiary with a 90-day reasonable opportunity period (ROP), as required by sections 1137(d), 1902(a)(46), 1902(ee), 1903(x), and 2105(c)(9) of the Act.41 If the state verifies that the beneficiary continues to have a satisfactory immigration status for the coverage in which they are enrolled, the beneficiary will retain coverage, and the state should notify the beneficiary that they continue to be eligible for the coverage in which they are enrolled. If information or documentation provided by the beneficiary demonstrates the individual no longer has satisfactory immigration status for the coverage in which they are enrolled, or if the beneficiary does not respond to the state’s request within the time specified by the state, the state must comply with requirements at 42 C.F.R. §§ 435.916(f) (2023), 457.343, and 457.350 to consider all bases of
38 States that are unable to individually identify all potentially affected beneficiaries will need to reverify the satisfactory immigration status for a broader population of noncitizens enrolled in Medicaid or CHIP (the scope may depend on state systems). For example, a state that does not retain data on the specific, verified immigration status or category for a beneficiary but, instead, retains a general designation of verified qualified noncitizen, may need to redetermine eligibility for all qualified noncitizens. A state that retains only the immigration status for those who are LPRs would need to redetermine eligibility for any other noncitizens receiving full Medicaid or CHIP benefits, with the exception of those beneficiaries receiving full Medicaid or CHIP benefits under a state’s election of the CHIPRA 214 option. 39 See https://www.uscis.gov/save; also discussed in the Verification of Immigration Status section of this letter. 40 Regardless of the source of information, 42 C.F.R. §§ 435.916(d)(1)(i) (2023) and 457.343 require that states limit requests for information from beneficiaries whose eligibility is based on modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) methodology to information related to the potential change in circumstances (which, here, is the statutory change that potentially affected their satisfactory immigration status). 41 42 C.F.R. §§ 435.956(b) and 457.380(b)(1).