H.R. 4641 — Keep Kids Covered Act

This section expands continuous eligibility periods under Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) for certain children (i.e., provisions ensuring that eligible low-income children maintain coverage without interim income redeterminations, reducing administrative churn and coverage gaps), effective one year after enactment. Specifically, for children deemed newborns due to birth to a Medicaid- or CHIP-eligible mother, it extends the continuous eligibility period to age 6 (from 1 year) under Medicaid and to age 6 (from age 1) under CHIP, with CHIP allowing transfer to Medicaid for the remainder if eligible. For other children, it requires Medicaid state plans to provide (1) continuous eligibility for children under age 6 until age 6 (or nonresidency); (2) 24 months of continuous eligibility (from 12 months) for children ages 6 through 18 (or until age 19); and (3) continuous eligibility until age 26 (or nonresidency) for former foster youth eligible under Medicaid's mandatory foster youth coverage. It makes conforming changes to CHIP state plan requirements. Additionally, it requires Medicaid and CHIP state plans to include processes for annually obtaining updated contact information from individuals in continuous eligibility for over 12 months and notifying them of their enrollment status and remaining period.

This section modifies the applicability of the Medicaid continuous coverage requirement for former foster youth up to age 26—added by Section 1002(a) of the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act (i.e., continuous eligibility without a new determination for individuals previously in title IV-E foster care)—to apply (1) beginning January 1, 2023, to foster youth who attain 18 years of age on or after that date; and (2) beginning 180 days after enactment of the Keep Kids Covered Act, to foster youth who attained 18 years of age before January 1, 2023.