Spousal impoverishment rules

CMS recently provided an update to the 2021 SSI and Spousal Impoverishment Standards. Spousal impoverishment standards are adjusted in January to reflect changes in the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) federal benefit rate (FBR) and the Consumer Price Index (CPI). These new standards will become effective on January 1, 2021.

On Thursday, November 15, 2018, the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) published an issue brief exploring the upcoming changes to spousal impoverishment policies in Federal Medicaid HCBS policy. This report provides an explanation of why spousal impoverishment policies exist, the changes made by the Affordable Care Act (ACA), and the potential implications of the expiration of these ACA changes.