Title 42 › CHAPTER 7 — SOCIAL SECURITY › SUBCHAPTER XIX — GRANTS TO STATES FOR MEDICAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS › § 1396u–3
States must offer Medicaid help to pay the Medicare cost-sharing (like premiums and coinsurance) for certain low-income Medicare beneficiaries (called "qualifying individuals"). Qualifying individuals may apply any time during a calendar year. States pick applicants in the order they apply until the State’s yearly money runs out. People who got help in the last month of the previous year get priority the next year. If someone is picked for any month, they get the help for the rest of that calendar year as long as they still qualify. The federal government pays 100% of those costs up to each State’s allocation for the year and pays nothing for costs above that allocation. Getting help under these rules does not create any automatic legal right to get help in future years. The Health Secretary must move matching Part B trust money into the Treasury to cover the federal share of payments made under these rules. The total national amounts set for the program are: FY1998 $200,000,000; FY1999 $250,000,000; FY2000 $300,000,000; FY2001 $350,000,000; FY2002 $400,000,000; FY2003 $400,000,000. Special-period totals are: Jan 1–Sep 30, 2008 $315,000,000; Oct 1–Dec 31, 2008 $130,000,000; Jan 1–Sep 30, 2009 $350,000,000; Oct 1–Dec 31, 2009 $150,000,000; Jan 1–Sep 30, 2010 $462,500,000; Oct 1–Dec 31, 2010 $165,000,000; Jan 1–Sep 30, 2011 $720,000,000; Oct 1–Dec 31, 2011 $280,000,000; Jan 1–Sep 30, 2012 $450,000,000; Oct 1–Dec 31, 2012 $280,000,000; Jan 1–Sep 30, 2013 $485,000,000; Oct 1–Dec 31, 2013 $300,000,000; Jan 1–Sep 30, 2014 $485,000,000; Oct 1–Dec 31, 2014 $300,000,000; Jan 1–Mar 31, 2015 $250,000,000; Apr 1–Dec 31, 2015 $535,000,000; and for 2016 and each later year (subject to limits) $980,000,000. The Secretary divides the national total among States based on each State’s share of the qualifying population. For certain short calendar periods, the Secretary treats them as continuations of the prior period for selection and limits. For years after 2016, the Secretary may raise a State’s allocation up to a limit based on the previous year’s maximum, the change in the Medicare Part B premium, and the change in Part B enrollment as estimated by the Chief Actuary.
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The Public Health and Welfare, Source: USLM XML via OLRC
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Citation
42 U.S.C. § 1396u–3
Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare
Last Updated
Sep 22, 2026
Release point: 119-110