WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Governor Mark Dayton, U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken, and Representatives Peterson, McCollum, Ellison, Walz, Paulsen, Nolan, and Emmer urged the Administration to allow Minnesota to continue to use the state’s current policy that protects families who are affected by a catastrophic health event or a progressive, degenerative disease by allowing the spouse with a disability to receive long-term care in their own home or community. Federal legislation newly introduced by Minnesota legislators in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives would protect couples who may be forced to give up critical services or lose their savings. On the state level, Dayton has advanced several proposals to address the issue as well.  

 

In Minnesota, families under 65 years old who are affected by a catastrophic health event—for instance, if a husband or wife faces a spinal cord injury or a progressive, degenerative disease like Multiple Sclerosis—are eligible to receive essential health services through Medicaid. Given the unique needs of this population, the state has allowed these families—who are often younger, working, and may have children at home— to access services while keeping their hard-earned financial assets to save for college or pay their mortgage.

 

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) are imposing federal requirements that will result in serious unintended consequences for these families. That is, in order to continue receiving critical healthcare services, nearly 500 Minnesota families may lose their hard-earned savings or be forced to get an unwanted divorce.  

 

“If Minnesota is forced to comply with these more restrictive requirements under Section 2404, the state estimates that up to 480 families of the total 2,800 affected, would be forced to choose between losing their Medicaid coverage, losing their hard-earned savings, or obtaining an unwanted divorce,” wrote the lawmakers. “No family should be forced to make these incredibly difficult choices, especially those who are already faced with a disabling medical condition.”

 

In a letter to Secretary Burwell, the lawmakers urged HHS to allow Minnesota to continue to the state’s long-established policy.

 

The full text of the letter the law makers sent is below:

 

Dear Secretary Burwell:

 

We respectfully request that you address an important issue in order to prevent Minnesotans with disabilities from losing access to Medicaid home and community-based services. Starting June 1, 2016, Minnesota will be forced to comply with federal spousal impoverishment requirements that are less favorable than the state’s current policy. We urge the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to allow Minnesota to continue to use the state’s long-established policy.

 

Spousal impoverishment rules are used to determine financial eligibility for married couples when one spouse is applying for coverage of Medicaid long-term-care services. These federal rules determine the amount of a married couple’s assets that they may keep while enabling the spouse to receive Medicaid home and community-based services. Any assets in excess of this amount that are held by married couples must be spent prior to eligibility. Minnesota currently applies different spousal impoverishment rules for younger, working-age families who may have children at home but are affected by a catastrophic health event or a progressive, degenerative disease. These rules allow the individual with a disability to receive long-term care in their own home or community but enable the family to keep their assets so that they can save for their children’s education and pay for their home.

 

Section 2404 of the Affordable Care Act (P.L. 111-148) sought to establish spousal impoverishment rules in states that did not have financial protections in place for people receiving home and community-based services. The financial eligibility criteria in Section 2404 is stricter than Minnesota’s policy, and as a result, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is requiring that Minnesota impose a lower asset criteria for families receiving home and community-based services starting June 1. If Minnesota is forced to comply with these more restrictive requirements under Section 2404, the state estimates that up to 480 families of the total 2,800 affected, would be forced to choose between losing their Medicaid coverage, losing their hard-earned savings, or obtaining an unwanted divorce. No family should be forced to make these incredibly difficult choices, especially those who are already faced with a disabling medical condition.

 

Congress did not intend for Section 2404 to restrict existing access to vital health services for these families. In order to remedy this problem, last week, members of the Minnesota congressional delegation introduced the Protecting Families with Disabilities Act of 2016. The bill would enable Minnesota to continue providing services to working-age families under its existing spousal impoverishment requirements without imposing the stricter federal rules. While Congress considers the Protecting Families with Disabilities Act of 2016, we urge you to act to prevent Minnesotans from losing access to critical home health services.

 

Thank you for your attention and we look forward to working with you to resolve this important issue.