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Medicaid bill likely to shorten retroactive eligibility window; DHHS sees limited immediate impacts for disability and aging programs
Summary
DHHS Medicaid staff said initial review of the recent federal bill shows limited immediate changes for long-term care programs, but noted retroactive eligibility review windows will shrink from 90 days to 60 days in some cases and some provisions have implementation dates years away.
Joseph Pia, a Medicaid long-term services and support representative for DHHS, told providers the department's early read of the recent federal legislation (referred to in the meeting as the "big beautiful bill") indicates limited immediate program changes for long-term services serving people with disabilities and older adults. He said many provisions will not take effect for years and the department plans a more comprehensive briefing at the next quarterly meeting.
Joseph highlighted a concrete change providers should watch: the allowable retroactive eligibility period will be shortened in key circumstances. "We will only be allowed to go back 60 days from the date of application to look at a retro period when it is currently 90 days," he said, and cautioned providers and families to pay closer attention to application timeframes. He added the department is not currently anticipating significant changes to federal match (FMAP) as a result of the final bill and noted Utah's FMAP is about 64 cents federal for each Medicaid dollar under current economic factors.
