Sponsors (10)
Official title: Provide Medicaid assistance to individuals and families affected by a disaster or emergency, and for other purposes.
Introduced June 12, 2025 by Richard Blumenthal · Last progress June 12, 2025
The bill greatly expands and speeds federal health coverage and surge-capacity supports for disaster survivors (especially low-income people, pregnant people, children, and those with disabilities) to prevent coverage loss and improve access, but does so at notable federal cost, added administrative complexity, risk of improper payments, and the potential for uneven or delayed implementation across states.
Low-income disaster survivors — including Medicaid/CHIP enrollees, pregnant people, newborns, and children — gain immediate and continuous Medicaid/CHIP access and protections (presumptive eligibility, paused redeterminations in direct impact areas, and pregnancy/newborn continuity) to prevent loss of coverage during and after disasters.
State governments, hospitals, and community providers receive substantial federal support (100% FMAP for eligible disaster care, CHIP allotment adjustments, targeted grants, and technical assistance) to reduce state budget strain and help expand surge capacity.
Disaster-affected individuals get faster access to care because the bill streamlines enrollment (self-attestation, presumptive eligibility), expedites provider approvals, and permits out-of-State providers and emergency waivers to cut administrative barriers.
Federal taxpayers will face materially higher federal spending (full FMAP for disaster care, expanded CHIP funding, Medicare enrollment effects, and evaluation/contract costs) to finance the enhanced disaster health benefits.
The bill imposes substantial new administrative complexity and operational burden on states and HHS (new enrollment processes, cross-state payment systems, CHIP reconciliation, reporting and verification, and eligibility-identification tasks), likely raising implementation costs and causing processing delays.
Key provisions depend on state uptake, future guidance, or legislative changes and may roll out unevenly or be delayed (funding starts FY2027, guidance timelines, and grace periods for state legislation), leaving some disaster survivors without timely benefits.
Based on analysis of 8 sections of legislative text.
Requires State Medicaid coverage for qualifying disaster survivors for two-year relief periods, pauses redeterminations, and makes FMAP 100% for services in direct impact areas.
Requires State Medicaid programs to provide temporary Medicaid coverage to people displaced or directly affected by major disasters declared on or after Jan 1, 2027, for a relief period lasting two years after a declaration. Pauses Medicaid/CHIP eligibility redeterminations in affected areas, makes federal matching payments 100% for covered services in declared direct impact areas, creates a small HCBS emergency response corps grant program, expands Section 1135 waiver area definitions, waives months from Medicare Part B late-enrollment penalties for disaster survivors, and mandates federal guidance, technical assistance, and a multi-year independent evaluation.