Sign-on letter: MSP expansion implementation (MassHealth reg changes)

05/31/23

Hello all, 

 
MassHealth has filed emergency and proposed regulations to implement a significant increase in the upper income limits for the Medicare Savings Programs (MSP). These are MassHealth programs that help elderly and disabled Medicare beneficiaries pay for Medicare Part B premiums and for certain people also pay for other Medicare cost-sharing. 
 
MLRI and other advocates have serious concerns with the fairness and legality of the way that MassHealth is choosing to implement this important benefit. We have drafted a sign-on letter with our comments on these emergency and proposed regulations that we will be filing with the agency laying out our concerns. We invite your organization to sign onto that letter, file your own comments, and/or testify at the public hearing. 
 
Here is a summary of our sign-on letter:

We strongly support the expansion of the three Medicare Savings Programs (MSP). It is an important benefit for low-income elderly and disabled Medicare beneficiaries. However, we cannot support the emergency proposed regulations and urge the agency to withdraw the emergency regulations and amend the proposed regulations as recommended in these comments. The emergency proposed regulations not only fail to fully implement legislation directing the agency to expand MSP, but they also add new limitations on access to MSP that violate state and federal Medicaid regulations, including the Maintenance of Effort (MOE) provisions that are a condition of enhanced federal funding. Further, the regulations are unfair to many low- and moderate-income older adults who will be denied the benefits of a program for which they are eligible. 

If your organization wants to sign on to our letter, please click here to complete this form by Friday, June 2 at 3pm. 
 
The Notice of public hearing on June 2, 2023 at 10 am, proposed emergency regulations and information about how to attend the public hearing are here. https://www.mass.gov/service-details/masshealth-public-hearings