Today CMS released a State Medicaid Director (SMD) letter clarifying that states have the option to target and tailor income and resource disregards for individuals who are eligible for or seeking home and community based services (HCBS). The SMD letter explains the new flexibility, provided under “the construction rule” to expand eligibility and provides details on how states can utilize it to expand coverage of HCBS under their Medicaid programs. The construction rule is contained in several recently enacted federal laws. The SMD letter represents a significant change in HCBS policy to support states in promoting more equity across HCBS and institutional eligibility requirements.
