Upton Pushes Medicaid Legislation

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health3353423-2

New legislation from Congressman Fred Upton is designed to protect senior citizens from being impoverished due to medical problems. He and Congresswoman Debbie Dingell have introduced the Protecting Married Seniors from Impoverishment Act. It would extend spousal protections for Medicaid beneficiaries receiving long-term care. Upton’s office tells us Medicaid includes protections to prevent a spouse from depleting all their financial resources due to a significant others’ long-term care needs. However, in order to maintain Medicaid eligibility, beneficiaries with a family member needing long-term care may need to “spend down” their resources. That could bankrupt them. The new plan would extend spousal impoverishment protections for Medicaid beneficiaries receiving long-term care to prevent that from being necessary. You can read the full legislation here.