Medicaid Restoration for Citizens of Freely Associated States Act of 2011

Medicaid Restoration for Citizens of Freely Associated States Act of 2011 - Amends the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act of 1996 to permit coverage under title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act for citizens of the Freely Associated States lawfully residing in the United States under the Compacts of Free Association between the United States Government and the Governments of the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau.

Exempts such citizens from the five-year limited eligibility of qualified aliens for federal means-tested public benefits with respect to the Medicaid program.

[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1504 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1504

 To restore Medicaid eligibility for citizens of the Freely Associated 
                                States.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             August 2, 2011

 Mr. Akaka (for himself, Mr. Inouye, and Mr. Bingaman) introduced the 
 following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
                                Finance

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To restore Medicaid eligibility for citizens of the Freely Associated 
                                States.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Medicaid Restoration for Citizens of 
Freely Associated States Act of 2011''.

SEC. 2. MEDICAID ELIGIBILITY FOR CITIZENS OF FREELY ASSOCIATED STATES.

    (a) In General.--Section 402(b)(2) of the Personal Responsibility 
and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1612(b)(2)) 
is amended by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(G) Medicaid exception for citizens of freely 
                associated states.--With respect to eligibility for 
                benefits for the program defined in paragraph (3)(C) 
                (relating to medicaid), paragraph (1) shall not apply 
                to any individual who lawfully resides in the United 
                States (including territories and possessions of the 
                United States) in accordance with--
                            ``(i) section 141 of the Compact of Free 
                        Association between the Government of the 
                        United States and the Government of the 
                        Federated States of Micronesia, approved by 
                        Congress in the Compact of Free Association 
                        Amendments Act of 2003;
                            ``(ii) section 141 of the Compact of Free 
                        Association between the Government of the 
                        United States and the Government of the 
                        Republic of the Marshall Islands, approved by 
                        Congress in the Compact of Free Association 
                        Amendments Act of 2003; or
                            ``(iii) section 141 of the Compact of Free 
                        Association between the Government of the 
                        United States and the Government of Palau, 
                        approved by Congress in Public Law 99-658 (100 
                        Stat. 3672).''.
    (b) Exception to 5-Year Limited Eligibility.--Section 403(d) of 
such Act (8 U.S.C. 1613(d)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ``or'' at the end;
            (2) in paragraph (2), by striking the period at the end and 
        inserting ``; or''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
            ``(3) an individual described in section 402(b)(2)(G), but 
        only with respect to the designated Federal program defined in 
        section 402(b)(3)(C).''.
    (c) Definition of Qualified Alien.--Section 431(b) of the Personal 
Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (8 
U.S.C. 1641(b)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (6), by striking ``or'' at the end;
            (2) in paragraph (7), by striking the period at the end and 
        inserting ``; or''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(8) an individual who lawfully resides in the United 
        States (including territories and possessions of the United 
        States) in accordance with a Compact of Free Association 
        referred to in section 402(b)(2)(G).''.
    (d) Conforming Amendments.--Section 1108 of the Social Security Act 
(42 U.S.C. 1308) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (f), in the matter preceding paragraph 
        (1), by striking ``subsection (g)'' and inserting ``subsections 
        (g) and (h)''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(h) The limitations of subsections (f) and (g) shall not apply 
with respect to medical assistance provided to an individual described 
in section 431(b)(8) of the Personal Responsibility and Work 
Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996.''.
    (e) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section take 
effect on the date of enactment of this Act and apply to benefits for 
items and services furnished on or after that date.
                                 <all>