c. Prohibition on Assessing Compliance With Community Engagement for Specified Excluded Individuals

At new § 435.556(c), we specify that States may not apply the requirements under § 435.556(a) to specified excluded individuals defined at § 435.554. Because specified excluded individuals are not applicable individuals, States may not require such individuals to demonstrate or be deemed as demonstrating community engagement for the otherwise applicable number of months at application, renewal, or, if applicable, more frequent verification. If a State identifies that an applicable individual meets an exclusion, the person becomes a specified excluded individual and is no longer subject to the requirements at § 435.556(a). This could be identified during the renewal process, as part of a more frequent verification of community engagement (if elected by the State), identified through information that becomes available to the State, or due to the individual reporting a change in their status to the Medicaid agency. Section II.I.7. of this IFC addresses how States must verify whether an individual is a specified excluded individual.