SR 24-14 Dated 01/24

SUMMARY

This Supervisory Release (SR) explains a change in eligibility policy for lawfully residing pregnant women and children under 19 years old. 

BACKGROUND

Section 403 of PRWORA imposed a 5-year waiting period on certain groups of qualified aliens, including most children and pregnant women who were otherwise eligible for Medicaid. Section 214 of the Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009 (CHIPRA) provided an option for states to provide medical coverage to pregnant women and children under age 19 who are lawfully residing in the United States.  House Bill (HB) 2 of the 2023 legislative session approved and directed the Department to implement the CHIPRA 2014 option.

POLICY

Effective January 1, 2024, pregnant women and children under age 19 who are lawfully residing in the United States are eligible for Medicaid without having to wait 5 years.

Lawfully residing pregnant women will remain enrolled in Medicaid through their pregnancy and the 12 month postpartum period.  Once this ends, the individual’s eligibility will be considered using the 5-year rule.

A sponsor’s income and resources are not considered when determining eligibility for this population. In addition, no debt will be created for the sponsor by any services provided to such individuals who have been found eligible for Medicaid.

Individuals who are lawfully residing in the United States are as follows:

·         A qualified alien as defined in section 431 of PRWORA (8 U.S.C. §1641);

·         A noncitizen in nonimmigrant status who has not violated the terms of the status under which he or she was admitted or to which he or she has changed after admission;

·         A noncitizen who has been paroled into the United States pursuant to section 212(d)(5) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) (8 U.S.C. §1182(d)(5)) for less than 1 year,

except for an alien paroled for prosecution, for deferred inspection or pending removal

proceedings;

·         A noncitizen who belongs to one of the following classes:

o   Noncitizens currently in temporary resident status pursuant to 8 U.S.C. §§1160 or 1255a, respectively;

o   Noncitizens currently under Temporary Protected Status (TPS) pursuant to 8 U.S.C. §1254a), and pending applicants for TPS who have been granted

employment authorization;

o   Noncitizens who have been granted employment authorization under 8 CFR

274a.12(c)(9), (10), (16), (18), (20), (22), or (24);

o   Family Unity beneficiaries pursuant to section 301 of Pub. L. 101-649, as amended;

o   Noncitizens currently under Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) pursuant to a decision made by the President;

o   Noncitizens currently in deferred action status; or

o   Noncitizens whose visa petition has been approved and who have a pending application for adjustment of status;

·         A pending applicant for asylum under section 208(a) of the INA (8 U.S.C. § 1158) or for

withholding of removal under section 241(b)(3) of the INA (8 U.S.C. § 1231) or under

the Convention Against Torture who has been granted employment authorization, and

such an applicant under the age of 14 who has had an application pending for at least 180 days;

·         A noncitizen who has been granted withholding of removal under the Convention Against Torture;

·         A child who has a pending application for Special Immigrant Juvenile status as described in 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(27)(J);

·         A noncitizen who is lawfully present in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands under 48 U.S.C. § 1806(e); or

·         A noncitizen who is lawfully present in American Samoa under the immigration laws of American Samoa.

NEW HEIGHTS & NH EASY SYSTEMS PROCEDURES

New HEIGHTS has removed the 5-year bar check (5 year rule) for Pregnant women and children under age 19 who are lawfully residing in the United States.

POLICY MANUAL REVISIONS

Medical Assistance Manual Topics

Section 303.11   Qualified Non-Citizens Eligible Without Restrictions

IMPLEMENTATION

This policy is effective January 1, 2024.

CLIENT NOTIFICATION

No special client notification is planned or needed.

TRAINING

No special training is planned or needed.

DISPOSITION

This SR may be destroyed or deleted after its contents have been noted and the revised manual topics released by this SR have been posted to the Online Manuals.

DISTRIBUTION

This SR will be distributed according to the electronic distribution list for BFA policy releases. This SR, and revised Online Manuals, will be available for agency staff in the Online Manual Library, and for public access on the Internet at https://www.dhhs.nh.gov/sr_htm/sr.htm, effective May 1, 2024.

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