[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 144 (Tuesday, September 17, 2024)]
[House]
[Pages H5301-H5302]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
LEVERAGING INTEGRITY AND VERIFICATION OF ELIGIBILITY FOR BENEFICIARIES
ACT
Mrs. RODGERS. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 8084) to amend title XIX of the Social Security Act to
require States to verify certain eligibility criteria for individuals
enrolled for medical assistance quarterly, and for other purposes, as
amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 8084
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Leveraging Integrity and
Verification of Eligibility for Beneficiaries Act'' or the
``LIVE Beneficiaries Act''.
SEC. 2. VERIFICATION OF CERTAIN ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA FOR
INDIVIDUALS ENROLLED FOR MEDICAL ASSISTANCE.
Section 1902 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396a)
is amended--
(1) in subsection (a)--
(A) in paragraph (86), by striking ``; and'' and inserting
a semicolon;
(B) in paragraph (87)(D), by striking the period at the end
and inserting ``; and''; and
(C) by inserting after paragraph (87)(D) the following new
paragraph:
``(88) provide that the State shall comply with the
eligibility verification requirements under subsection (uu),
except that this paragraph shall apply only in the case of
the 50 States and the District of Columbia.''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following new subsection:
``(uu) Verification of Certain Eligibility Criteria.--
``(1) In general.--For purposes of subsection (a)(88), the
eligibility verification requirements, beginning January 1,
2026, are as follows:
``(A) Quarterly screening to verify enrollee status.--The
State shall, not less frequently than quarterly, review the
Death Master File (as such term is defined in section 203(d)
of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013) to determine whether
any individuals enrolled for medical assistance under the
State plan (or waiver of such plan) are deceased.
``(B) Disenrollment under state plan.--If the State
determines, based on information obtained from the Death
Master File, that an individual enrolled for medical
assistance under the State plan (or waiver of such plan) is
deceased, the State shall--
``(i) treat such information as factual information
confirming the death of a beneficiary for purposes of section
431.213(a) of title 42, Code of Federal Regulations (or any
successor regulation);
``(ii) disenroll such individual from the State plan (or
waiver of such plan); and
``(iii) discontinue any payments for medical assistance
under this title made on behalf of such individual (other
than payments for any items or services furnished to such
individual prior to the death of such individual).
``(C) Reinstatement of coverage in the event of error.--If
a State determines that an
[[Page H5302]]
individual was misidentified as deceased based on information
obtained from the Death Master File, and was erroneously
disenrolled from medical assistance under the State plan (or
waiver of such plan) based on such misidentification, the
State shall immediately reenroll such individual under the
State plan (or waiver of such plan), retroactive to the date
of such disenrollment.
``(2) Rule of construction.--Nothing under this subsection
shall be construed to preclude the ability of a State to use
other electronic data sources to timely identify potentially
deceased beneficiaries, so long as the State is also in
compliance with the requirements of this subsection (and all
other requirements under this title relating to Medicaid
eligibility determination and redetermination).''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from
Washington (Mrs. Rodgers) and the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr.
Pallone) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Washington.
General Leave
Mrs. RODGERS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that
all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend
their remarks and insert extraneous material in the Record on the bill.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentlewoman from Washington?
There was no objection.
Mrs. RODGERS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as
I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, according to the HHS Office of Inspector General, States
pay hundreds of millions per year to Medicaid-managed care
organizations to care for beneficiaries who have passed away.
It feels almost impossible to believe that precious Medicaid dollars
intended to help pregnant women, children, and those in need would
instead go to insurance companies to help manage care for people who
are already deceased. Yet, it is happening.
H.R. 8084 will hopefully change this by requiring States to check the
Social Security Administration's Death Master File every quarter to
identify individuals still enrolled in the State's Medicaid program who
are deceased. This is a commonsense solution that will better serve the
people Medicaid is intended to help. I encourage my colleagues to
support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 8084, the LIVE
Beneficiaries Act, sponsored by Representatives Craig and Bilirakis.
This bipartisan bill would require State Medicaid agencies to use the
database managed by the Social Security Administration to identify
people who have passed away yet remain enrolled in the Medicaid
program.
In recent years, the Department of Health and Human Services Office
of the Inspector General has identified payments made by States to
Medicaid-managed care plans for people who had already passed away.
H.R. 8084 would help to prevent this wasteful spending by requiring
States to check the Social Security Administration's Death Master File
on a quarterly basis at a minimum and to disenroll anyone who is
deceased before any additional payments can be made inadvertently on
their behalf.
Importantly, though, H.R. 8084 includes protections to ensure that in
the rare circumstance an individual is falsely identified as deceased,
the State must reinstate the person's coverage retroactive to the date
that the person was improperly disenrolled.
Mr. Speaker, I hope my colleagues will join me in voting ``yes'' on
this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Mrs. RODGERS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the
gentleman from Florida (Mr. Bilirakis), the subcommittee chair of the
Innovation, Data, and Commerce Subcommittee of Energy and Commerce, and
the prime sponsor of this legislation.
Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chair for giving me the
opportunity to speak. She has done such an outstanding job as chairman
of the Energy and Commerce Committee. We are so very fortunate. She
thinks of her constituents and the American people as a whole first,
and we really appreciate her service.
I rise in strong support of my bill, H.R. 8084, the Leveraging
Integrity and Verification of Eligibility, or the LIVE Beneficiaries
Act.
I am grateful to have worked in a bipartisan fashion alongside
Representative Craig, and I thank her for her support of this
commonsense bill focused on Medicaid program integrity and preventing
fraud, waste, and abuse to save taxpayer dollars.
Our legislation requires CMS to ensure that States are certifying, at
least on a quarterly basis, that enrollees are not listed on the Social
Security Administration's Death Master File database. We also include a
provision to give States the ability to check other death records to
make sure Medicaid beneficiaries are not deceased.
I mean, what we want is to save money for our senior citizens and
those who need Medicaid, as well. This is a good bill. Unfortunately,
it is a must-pass bill. It shouldn't have to happen, but we are going
to save dollars, and we are going to take care of this with this
particular bill.
We also require immediate disenrollment of beneficiaries should they
verify the death of Medicaid enrollees. This repeals the current CMS
guidance that forced States to collect additional information about
their beneficiaries to ensure their records are correct.
CMS has started to recognize this problem and take some
administrative steps with States but not enough. This bill will help
ensure we are abiding by good governance standards in statute. We know
that too often fraudulent, wasteful payments occur in the Medicaid and
Medicare programs, and we should continue to find ways to cut down and
save taxpayer dollars wherever possible.
Again, the money is intended to go to our seniors and those who are
on Medicaid. That is what we are doing with this bill. I commend
Representative Garcia for his bill, as well. I also thank the chairman
and the ranking member. I ask my colleagues to support H.R. 8084.
{time} 2030
Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I have no additional speakers, and I am
prepared to close.
Mr. Speaker, again, this is a bill that addresses wasteful spending,
and I think it is important for us to make sure we support it on a
bipartisan basis.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mrs. RODGERS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, in closing, I urge a ``yes''
vote on this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentlewoman from Washington (Mrs. Rodgers) that the House suspend the
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 8084, as amended.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
____________________