Medicaid Equal Standards Act

Key Points

• This bill would require states to add an asset test for Medicaid expansion enrollees. Right now, eligibility for the expansion population is based only on income. Under this bill, states would also have to check a person's resources like savings accounts and other countable assets.
• Starting January 1, 2029, individuals in the Medicaid expansion group with more than $10,000 in countable resources would lose eligibility. Married couples would face a $20,000 limit. Resources would be determined using the same rules as the Supplemental Security Income program.
• The $10,000 asset limit would stay flat until 2033, when it would be adjusted for inflation based on the Consumer Price Index. After that, inflation adjustments would happen every four years.
• States could make the rules even stricter by setting limits lower than $10,000 or by counting additional types of resources that are normally excluded. States cannot be denied these stricter options by the federal government.
• The asset test would apply both when people first apply for Medicaid and at every eligibility redetermination, meaning current enrollees could lose coverage if their savings exceed the limit at renewal time.