LIVE Beneficiaries Act

This bill, also called the LIVE Beneficiaries Act, aims to keep Medicaid rolls accurate. It makes states check a federal list of reported deaths at least every three months and remove people who have died from Medicaid. If someone is wrongly flagged as deceased, the state must quickly restore their coverage back to the date it was ended. These changes start January 1, 2027, and apply to the 50 states and Washington, D.C.

States must also stop paying new Medicaid claims after the person’s date of death, but payments for care given before death can still be made. States may use other trusted data sources to spot deaths too, as long as they follow these rules.

• Who is affected: State Medicaid agencies; Medicaid enrollees and families in all 50 states and D.C.
• What changes: Quarterly checks of the Social Security Administration’s Death Master File; end coverage and payments for deceased enrollees; fast, retroactive reinstatement if a mistake happens.
• When: Takes effect January 1, 2027.