It’s a Match! Early State Success with SSA Data Matching for Citizenship Documentation

On January 1, 2010, states were able to start implementing a new option to satisfy the citizenship documentation requirements for Medicaid and CHIP through electronic data matches with the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) database. The requirement that states verify citizenship and identity for Medicaid recipients was created in the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (DRA) and became effective in July of 2006. This requirement was extended to CHIP programs with the enactment of the Children’s Health Insurance Reauthorization Act (CHIPRA) in February of 2009. Medicaid’s experience collecting and verifying the additional documentation from families was that it initially created significant administrative burdens and costs for states and caused many eligible children, pregnant women, and parents to lose or be denied health coverage. Congress responded to state and advocate concerns by creating the new SSA data match option through CHIPRA.
Early results from states regarding the SSA data match have been promising. Close to half of all states have now either implemented this option or are testing the procedure and will likely adopt it. SSA reports over a 94 percent successful match rate and states report significant administrative savings and increased enrollment simplification. This webinar will highlight the early successes of the SSA data match provision and will discuss possible applications for this type of electronic verification process for broader health care reform enrollment efforts. The speakers are: …..
Webinar Power Point Slides
NASHP Related Posting on MaxEnroll.org

• Moderator: Alice Weiss, Deputy Director, Maximizing Enrollment for Kids & Program Director, National Academy for State Health Policy 
• Donna Cohen Ross, Senior Advisor, Office of External Affairs Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
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• Paul Swanenburg, Senior IT Specialist and Program Manager, Social Security Administration
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• Janice Holmes, FAMIS Program Operations Manager, Maternal and Child Health Division, Virginia Department of Medical Assistance Services
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• Karen Packer, Senior Policy Analyst, Eligibility Section, Policy and Research Division, Virginia Department of Medical Assistance Services
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• Patricia Taylor, Eligibility and Enrollment Unit Manager, Program Operations Division, Virginia Department of Medical Assistance Services
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