From DC is Justice in Getting old’s weekly roundup of nationwide information and assets about points impacting older adults. To obtain From DC in your inbox as quickly as its revealed, join our mailing checklist.
Right here’s what we’re watching in Washington:
Updates on HUD’s Efforts to Overhaul Homelessness Funding
In late December, a federal district court docket issued a preliminary injunction in litigation over the Division of Housing and City Growth (HUD)’s efforts to overtake its major homeless help program.
HUD is searching for to upend the Continuum of Care (CoC) program by slashing funds for everlasting supportive housing (PSH) and enacting different sweeping modifications round homelessness funding. The court docket’s order briefly blocks HUD from continuing with these proposals.
Congress, in the meantime, continues to be contemplating measures to resume present CoC grants for an additional 12 months as a part of an appropriations invoice. Extending present grants would guarantee stability for the CoC program this 12 months and delay any dangerous modifications.
Advocacy with Congress stays essential. HUD’s proposed cuts to PSH would disproportionately hurt older adults, who’re the fastest-growing group amongst folks experiencing homelessness. Learn extra in our weblog about the necessity to save PSH for older adults, and urge Congress in the present day to guard PSH and CoC funding.
Home Takes Motion on ACA Tax Credit
This week, 17 Republicans joined all 213 Democrats within the Home of Representatives to go a invoice to increase the Inexpensive Care Act Market enhanced premium tax credit (ePTCs) for 3 years.
The ePTCs expired on December thirty first, leading to steep price will increase for low- and moderate-income older adults and households who purchase their medical health insurance on the Marketplaces. The three-year extension continues to face an uphill battle within the Senate, as a bipartisan group of Senators is discussing potential compromises.
Use the Coalition on Human Wants instrument to jot down your Senators and ask them to go a clear extension of the ePTCs.
Federal Court docket Permits Sure Immigrants’ Medicaid Knowledge to be Shared with DHS
The U.S. District Court docket of Northern California has permitted restricted knowledge sharing between the Heart for Medicare and Medicaid Providers (CMS) and the Division of Homeland Safety (DHS), denying partly and granting partly plaintiff states’ renewed request for a preliminary injunction stopping the sharing of immigrants’ personal info. This improvement impacts the 20 states that sued over the information sharing.
In consequence, CMS could now present knowledge to DHS on sure Medicaid enrollees who aren’t lawfully residing in the US. This knowledge can embrace extremely private info, corresponding to citizenship and immigration standing, tackle and phone quantity, and date of start.
Nonetheless, CMS continues to be blocked from sharing Medicaid knowledge for residents and lawfully current people and can’t share knowledge from different Well being and Human Providers (HHS) applications. DHS can also be blocked from utilizing knowledge they could have beforehand obtained from CMS until the information satisfies these new necessities.
The brand new preliminary injunction is in place till the litigation is over or 14 days after new federal insurance policies are issued explaining the authorized and coverage foundation for sharing such knowledge between HHS and DHS, whichever comes first.
For extra details about Medicaid knowledge sharing and different points impacting older immigrants, see our webinar recording.
Congressional Listening to on Medicare Laws
The Home Power & Commerce Well being Subcommittee held a listening to on Thursday to contemplate a number of Medicare payments, together with two payments that may advance Justice in Getting old’s priorities.
The bipartisan Senior Financial savings Safety Act (H.R. 6210/S. 2466) would offer a five-year extension of funding for outreach and enrollment help for low-income Medicare enrollees. One other invoice launched by Rep. McClellan (D-VA), H.R. 5243, would improve knowledge transparency for supplemental advantages underneath Medicare Benefit.
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