7/28/2019 After DOMA: Medicaid

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7/28/2019 After DOMA: Medicaid

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AFTER DOMA: WHAT IT MEANS FOR YOU MEDICAID 2

Tis series of fact sheets produced together by:

American Civil Liberties Union | Center for American Progress | Family Equality Council | Freedom to Marry | Gay & Lesbian Advocates & DefendersHuman Rights Campaign | Immigration Equality | Lambda Legal | National Center for Lesbian Rights | National Gay and Lesbian Task Force | OutServe-SLDN.

treat same-sex married couples as married or many Medicaid programs,although several states have already been recognizing marriages betweensame-sex spouses or Medicaid purposes.

If your state recognizes your marriage: Now that Section 3 o theederal Deense o Marriage Act (DOMA) has been overturned, everystate that recognizes marriages between same-sex couples will recognizetheir marriages or all Medicaid purposes.

If you are in a civil union or registered domestic partnership andyour state recognizes your relationship: You may be treated as marriedor Medicaid purposes. We do not yet know i you will le ederaltaxes jointly with your partner. But i you do le taxes jointly, both oyour incomes will be considered or most Medicaid income eligibilitycalculations, which could make you ineligible. See guidance on Federalaxes or more inormation.

If you live in a state that doesnt recognize your relationship: You willprobably not be recognized as married or Medicaid purposes, althoughsome states may decide to provide hardship protections to a partner oa person in long term care.

Te ederal government has also allowed states to provide the sameprotections given to the spouses o people who are receiving long termcare to any domestic partner, regardless o whether they are in a ormallyrecognized relationship. Tese protections can be very signicant theycan allow the partner who is not in long term care to remain in the amilyhome and allow the partner to keep more joint assets. Most states havenot yet decided whether to provide these protections to domestic partners.

How does being married impact my Medicaid eligibility?

Because this program is limited to very low-income people, who isconsidered to be a part o your amily or purposes o determining youramily income and assets impacts your eligibility or Medicaid. As explainedabove, how your income is calculated or most Medicaid programs willchange in 2014.

For people receiving long term care coverage through Medicaid (such as

coverage or nursing home care), Medicaid provides protections or thehealthy spouses assets.

CAUTION: For many couples, being married is not benefcial orMedicaid purposes and can result in losing eligibility or benefts.But, being married can be benefcial i one spouse is receiving long-term care coverage through Medicaid. People receiving Medicaidshould speak to an attorney i possible about their benefts beoredeciding to marry.

I have been told that I have to identiy the biological athero my child to receive Medicaid. Is this true?

Federal law currently requires people who receive Medicaid because they

are parents to cooperate in eorts to identiy the biological ather otheir child the ederal law requiring this is written in gendered termsand assumes that a biological ather must be identied. Parents who haveconceived using a known sperm donor may be required to identiy theirsperm donor as the ather o their child in order to receive benets. I youlive in a state with laws that say a sperm donor is not a parent (and youollowed those laws) or i a court has already ruled that your donor is nota parent, you should not have to identiy him as a ather although youmay have to push the agency to recognize this. But, i your donor couldbe a legal parent under your states laws, you may be required to identiy

him as a legal ather. Identiying your sperm donor as a ather can havesevere results it can mean that he will be recognized as the legal secondparent o your child or all purposes under the law, including the abilityto seek custody or visitation, and can prevent a non-biological parent whois raising the child rom being recognized. I you are acing this situationplease contact one o the legal groups listed at the end o this publicationor more inormation.

How can I apply or Medicaid?

Te application process will be dierent in each state. Currently, in mosplaces, there will be a county ofce where you can apply, or you may beable to apply online. Beginning in 2014, you will be able to apply onlineand determine your eligibility through the Health Insurance MarketplaceFor more inormation, and to see i you are eligible or Medicaid coveragein your state, please visitwww.healthcare.gov.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACTNATIONAL CENTER FOR LESBIAN RIGHTS

nclrights.org

LAMBDA LEGAL

lambdalegal.org

GAY & LESBIAN ADVOCATES & DEFENDERS

glad.org

AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION

aclu.org/lgbt

http://www.healthcare.gov/http://www.glad.org/http://www.glad.org/http://www.aclu.org/http://www.glad.org/http://www.healthcare.gov/