S. 678 — LIVE Beneficiaries Act

This section requires the 50 states and the District of Columbia to comply with new Medicaid eligibility verification requirements under subsection (uu) of Section 1902(a) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396a(a)), beginning January 1, 2027. Those requirements are (1) quarterly screening of the Death Master File (i.e., Social Security Administration list of deceased persons) to identify deceased individuals enrolled under the state plan (or waiver); (2) treating Death Master File data as factual confirmation of death, disenrolling such individuals per existing regulations, and discontinuing payments for medical assistance on their behalf (except for pre-death services); and (3) immediately reenrolling, retroactive to the disenrollment date, any individual erroneously identified as deceased. (Thus, states may use other data sources to identify deceased enrollees if also complying with these requirements.)