[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 228 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 228

  To amend title XIX of the Social Security Act to permit States, at 
 their option, to require certain individuals to present satisfactory 
    documentary evidence of proof of citizenship or nationality for 
     purposes of eligibility for Medicaid, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            January 13, 2009

Mr. Bingaman (for himself and Mr. Akaka) introduced the following bill; 
     which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend title XIX of the Social Security Act to permit States, at 
 their option, to require certain individuals to present satisfactory 
    documentary evidence of proof of citizenship or nationality for 
     purposes of eligibility for Medicaid, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. STATE OPTION TO REQUIRE CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS TO PRESENT 
              SATISFACTORY DOCUMENTARY EVIDENCE OF PROOF OF CITIZENSHIP 
              OR NATIONALITY FOR PURPOSES OF ELIGIBILITY FOR MEDICAID.

    (a) In General.--Section 1902(a)(46) of the Social Security Act (42 
U.S.C. 1396a(a)(46)) is amended--
            (1) by inserting ``(A)'' after ``(46)'';
            (2) by adding ``and'' after the semicolon; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
            ``(B) at the option of the State and subject to section 
        1903(x), require that, with respect to an individual (other 
        than an individual described in section 1903(x)(1)) who 
        declares to be a citizen or national of the United States for 
        purposes of establishing initial eligibility for medical 
        assistance under this title (or, at State option, for purposes 
        of renewing or redetermining such eligibility to the extent 
        that such satisfactory documentary evidence of citizenship or 
        nationality has not yet been presented), there is presented 
        satisfactory documentary evidence of citizenship or nationality 
        of the individual (using criteria determined by the State, 
        which shall be no more restrictive than the criteria used by 
        the Social Security Administration to determine citizenship, 
        and which shall accept as such evidence a document issued by a 
        federally recognized Indian tribe evidencing membership or 
        enrollment in, or affiliation with, such tribe (such as a 
        tribal enrollment card or certificate of degree of Indian 
        blood, and, with respect to those federally recognized Indian 
        tribes located within States having an international border 
        whose membership includes individuals who are not citizens of 
        the United States, such other forms of documentation (including 
        tribal documentation, if appropriate) that the Secretary, after 
        consulting with such tribes, determines to be satisfactory 
        documentary evidence of citizenship or nationality for purposes 
        of satisfying the requirement of this subparagraph));''.
    (b) Limitation on Waiver Authority.--Notwithstanding any provision 
of section 1115 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1315), or any 
other provision of law, the Secretary of Health and Human Services may 
not waive the requirements of section 1902(a)(46)(B) of such Act (42 
U.S.C. 1396a(a)(46)(B)) with respect to a State.
    (c) Conforming Amendments.--Section 1903 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 
1396b) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (i)--
                    (A) in paragraph (20), by adding ``or'' after the 
                semicolon;
                    (B) in paragraph (21), by striking ``; or'' and 
                inserting a period; and
                    (C) by striking paragraph (22); and
            (2) in subsection (x)--
                    (A) by striking paragraphs (1) and (3);
                    (B) by redesignating paragraph (2) as paragraph 
                (1);
                    (C) in paragraph (1), as so redesignated, by 
                striking ``paragraph (1)'' and inserting ``section 
                1902(a)(46)(B)''; and
                    (D) by adding at the end the following new 
                paragraph:
    ``(2) In the case of an individual declaring to be a citizen or 
national of the United States with respect to whom a State requires the 
presentation of satisfactory documentary evidence of citizenship or 
nationality under section 1902(a)(46)(B), the individual shall be 
provided at least the reasonable opportunity to present satisfactory 
documentary evidence of citizenship or nationality under this 
subsection as is provided under clauses (i) and (ii) of section 
1137(d)(4)(A) to an individual for the submittal to the State of 
evidence indicating a satisfactory immigration status.''.

SEC. 2. CLARIFICATION OF RULES FOR CHILDREN BORN IN THE UNITED STATES 
              TO MOTHERS ELIGIBLE FOR MEDICAID.

    Section 1903(x) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1396b(x)), as amended by 
section 1(c)(2), is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1)--
                    (A) in subparagraph (C), by striking ``or'' at the 
                end;
                    (B) by redesignating subparagraph (D) as 
                subparagraph (E); and
                    (C) by inserting after subparagraph (C) the 
                following new subparagraph:
            ``(D) pursuant to the application of section 1902(e)(4) 
        (and, in the case of an individual who is eligible for medical 
        assistance on such basis, the individual shall be deemed to 
        have provided satisfactory documentary evidence of citizenship 
        or nationality and shall not be required to provide further 
        documentary evidence on any date that occurs during or after 
        the period in which the individual is eligible for medical 
        assistance on such basis); or''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
    ``(3) Nothing in subparagraph (A) or (B) of section 1902(a)(46), 
the preceding paragraphs of this subsection, or the Deficit Reduction 
Act of 2005, including section 6036 of such Act, shall be construed as 
changing the requirement of section 1902(e)(4) that a child born in the 
United States to an alien mother for whom medical assistance for the 
delivery of such child is available as treatment of an emergency 
medical condition pursuant to subsection (v) shall be deemed eligible 
for medical assistance during the first year of such child's life.''.

SEC. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    (a) Retroactive Application.--The amendments made by this Act shall 
take effect as if included in the enactment of the Deficit Reduction 
Act of 2005 (Public Law 109-171; 120 Stat. 4).
    (b) Restoration of Eligibility.--In the case of an individual who, 
during the period that began on July 1, 2006, and ends on the date of 
enactment of this Act, was determined to be ineligible for medical 
assistance under a State Medicaid program solely as a result of the 
application of subsections (i)(22) and (x) of section 1903 of the 
Social Security Act (as in effect during such period), but who would 
have been determined eligible for such assistance if such subsections, 
as amended by sections 1 and 2, had applied to the individual, a State 
may deem the individual to be eligible for such assistance as of the 
date that the individual was determined to be ineligible for such 
medical assistance on such basis.
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