CMS Will Not Allow Partial Medicaid Expansions Under Health Care Reform

On December 10, 2012, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that the federal government would not permit states to receive an enhanced federal matching rate for partial (or phased-in) Medicaid eligibility expansion to some level below 133% of the federal poverty limit (FPL) under health care reform. The 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) expanded Medicaid eligibility to non-disabled low-income individuals aged 19 to 64 years old who earn less than 133% of the federal poverty level (FPL) and who are not otherwise eligible for Medicaid or eligible for Medicare. The expansion . . .