HR 3079119th CongressIn Committee

Medicaid Empowerment Act of 2025

Introduced: Apr 29, 2025

Standard Summary

Comprehensive overview in 1-2 paragraphs

Medicaid Empowerment Act of 2025 would modify how long renewal periods last for certain home and community-based services (HCBS) waivers and related state plan amendments under Medicaid. Specifically, the bill would lengthen renewal periods from five years to ten years for extensions of HCBS waivers and for renewals of elections and state plan amendments, but only for renewals that begin on or after the enactment date. The change aims to provide greater stability and predictability for states administering HCBS programs and for beneficiaries receiving these services, while reducing the frequency of renewal processes. The bill does not create new programs or funding; it simply adjusts the timing of renewals within the existing Medicaid framework (title XIX of the Social Security Act).

Key Points

1Extends renewal periods for extensions of HCBS waivers under 1915(c) from five years to ten years for extensions beginning on or after enactment.
2Extends renewal periods for extensions of waivers under subsection (c) beginning on or after enactment to ten-year periods.
3Extends renewal periods for renewals of elections beginning on or after enactment to ten-year terms.
4Applies to Home and Community-Based Services waivers and related State plan amendments; no new funding is provided by the bill.
5The effective change applies only to renewals/elections beginning after the date of enactment of the Act (i.e., future renewals).

Impact Areas

Primary group/area affected: Medicaid beneficiaries who rely on home and community-based services, along with states and providers delivering HCBS, who will experience longer renewal cycles and potentially more program stability.Secondary group/area affected: State Medicaid agencies and the federal CMS oversight framework, which may experience changes in renewal workload timing and planning.Additional impacts: Potential improvements in budgeting and service continuity due to less frequent renewals; possible trade-offs in the speed of policy updates or quality/oversight measures since reviews would occur less often. The bill does not address funding levels or new program costs.

Generated by gpt-5-nano on Oct 31, 2025