Sponsor
Michael Cloud
Representative · R-TX
Representative · R-TX
Requires States to adopt and apply a State-determined resources test as a condition of Medicaid expansion eligibility, effective Jan 1, 2029.
Official title: To amend title XIX of the Social Security Act to establish a resources test for eligibility under the Medicaid program for the expansion population.
Introduced June 18, 2026 by Michael Cloud · Last progress June 18, 2026
The bill gives states flexibility to impose resource tests and protects federal matching funds for expansion populations, but at the cost of potentially removing coverage for some low-income people, increasing health and financial harms, creating unequal access across states, and adding administrative burdens for state Medicaid agencies.
State governments can set and tailor periodic resource tests, giving them flexibility to design eligibility rules that reflect state priorities.
States retain enhanced Medicaid FMAP for the expansion population even if they deny eligibility under the resources test, protecting state budgets and limiting increased state spending/taxpayer exposure.
People in the low-income Medicaid expansion population may face loss of Medicaid eligibility at application or redetermination if they exceed a state resources test.
Those who lose coverage or are excluded under a resources test may face higher out-of-pocket medical costs and delayed or forgone care, increasing health risks and financial strain.
Allowing states to include or exclude specified groups creates the risk of unequal access to Medicaid across states, producing geographic disparities in coverage for similar low-income people.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Requires states to establish and apply a State-determined "resources test" as a condition of Medicaid eligibility for the expansion population (applicable individuals). States are given explicit authority to set that test through a new statutory subparagraph and a new State-plan requirement; the Secretary of HHS may not deny a State’s election to use the test. The test must be applied at initial eligibility and at each redetermination, and the bill clarifies that denying eligibility under the resources test does not cause a State to lose certain enhanced FMAP treatment for the expansion population. The changes take effect January 1, 2029.