Health Announce: July 7, 2025

07/07/25

Topics for this week’s Health Announce:

  1. “Big Beautiful Bill” signed into law – strips food and health insurance from millions.
  2. Spread the Word: Tenants may be able to seal their eviction records!
  3. Proposed MassHealth Regulations.
  4. New EO Memo on the sunsetting of certain E14 waivers.
  5. Save the Date! ADA35 Rally and March for Disability Rights!

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July is Disability Pride Month, a time to recognize the achievements and experiences of people with disabilities, as well as to celebrate the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Disability is natural and valuable part of human diversity, and people with disabilities are vital parts of every community. Organizations have developed varied ways to commemorate Disability Pride Month:

Be well,

Health Law Unit
Massachusetts Law Reform Institute

1. “Big Beautiful Bill” signed into law – strips food and health insurance from millions.

On July 4, 2025, President Trump signed the GOP’s nearly 900-page tax and spending bill. Advocates (including us) are still digging our way through the law to understand the full implications of all the various provisions. What is clear is that this law will inflict generational harm on our neighbors and communities. While the final bill did remove some awful provisions, such as reducing the federal medical assistance percentage (FMAP) for states that use their own money to cover health care for certain immigrant groups, it included many of the most harmful provision of the original House bill, including:

  • Work requirements for the Medicaid Expansion population – slated to start in 2027 (though some states could get extensions)
  • 6-month redeterminations for the Medicaid Expansion population – starts Dec. 31, 2026 and includes up to $35 co-pay for services starting in 2028.
  • No premium tax credits for immigrants with income under 100% FPL starting in the 2026 plan year. This affects ConnectorCare Plan Type 1; other restrictions in immigrant eligibility for premium tax credits begin Jan. 1, 2027.
  • Phase down of provider taxes and state directed payments beginning in 2028, which will result in facility closures and service elimination – one hospital in Nebraska already announced its closure because of anticipated loss of revenue due to the Medicaid cuts.

Other resources for good summaries of the bill:

2. Spread the Word: Tenants may be able to seal their eviction records!

On May 5, 2025, a new law went into effect in Massachusetts that allows tenants -- for the first time ever -- to “seal” certain types of eviction records. “Seal” means that the court record will no longer be publicly available. For decades, eviction records have been unfairly used against tenants when they are looking for a next place to live. Now, tenants who are eligible can file a court petition to seal their record. They don't have to go to court. Over 1,000 petitions have been filed within two months.

But most tenants don't know about the new law. Use these flyers in multiple languages to spread the word so that tenants who have faced eviction will have the information they need to seal a court eviction record. For more information, go to SealMyEviction.org.

3. Proposed MassHealth Regulations

On July 3, 2025, MassHealth released two separate notices of proposed rulemaking. One set of proposed changes to the 130 CMR 506.000 regulations relates to premiums and premium assistance, with a public hearing on July 25, 2025. The other set of proposed changes are to the eligibility and coverage regulations; they are not scheduled for a public hearing, but written comments may be submitted through July 25, 2025.

These are some of the highlights of the proposed rules as summarized in the notice

130 CMR 501

  • EAEDC: MassHealth will provide all EAEDC referred eligible members with MassHealth Standard (the richest MassHealth benefit).
  • Recoupment of Overpayments: Remove language reserving the right to recoup overpayment for medical services. This aligns with recent CMS guidance and does not preclude MassHealth from recovering within the limits set by federal law.

130 CMR 502

  • Retroactive eligibility/Start dates: Starting July 2025, all members will receive retroactive coverage up to the first day of the third month before the month of application if (i) covered medical services were received during such period, and (ii) the applicant would have been eligible at the time services were provided (currently only available to certain groups). Otherwise, the coverage start date will default to the first day of the month of application. [In the 1115 Demo, the state was to stop waiving 3 mo retro on or before Jan 1, 2026 –good news that it will be before!]
  • Ex Parte Renewals: Perform annual autorenewals at the individual member level instead of by household

130 CMR 505

  • Continuous Eligibility: Provide (i) 12-months continuous coverage regardless of change in circumstances for children younger than 19 and individuals released from a correctional institution; and (ii) 24-months continuous coverage regardless of change in circumstances for all homeless individuals. [These changes were authorized in 1115 Demo and took effect earlier as announced by EOM]
  • TMA Start Date: Members eligible for 12 months transitional medical assistance (TMA) must begin their 12-month TMA period the month after a state (i) determines that an individual has experienced a TMA-qualifying event; and (ii) has provided the individual with advance notice. Under current practice, we begin the TMA period when the TMA-qualifying event occurred.
  • EAEDC: Provide all EAEDC referred eligible members with MassHealth Standard (the richest MassHealth benefit).
  • CommonHealth: CommonHealth members younger than 65 are no longer required to work or meet a one-time deductible. [This change was authorized in the 1115 Demo and took effect earlier as announced by EOM].

4. New EO Memo on the sunsetting of certain E14 waivers.

MassHealth released another eligibility operations memo, EOM 25-12, about the discontinuation of certain of the Section 1902(e)(14)(A) waivers offered to states during the unwinding. (You can find an earlier Health Announce explanation of the Temporary ARD policy here, at Topic #4.) The EOM summarizes the following E14 policies changing on June 30, 2025:

  • Redeterminations: when a renewal form is returned within 90 days of the termination date, eligibility will no longer date back to the date of termination for non-MAGI (seniors), but they may still be able to fill the gap with retroactive eligibility. It is unclear if the policy has changed for the MAGI population.
  • Ex-parte (electronic data matching) renewals for non-MAGI members will once more include the asset test where applicable.
  • The Temporary ARD policy is ending. It is unclear if MassHealth is making any change in the ways ARDs may be designated without the beneficiary’s signature in other situations.

5. Save the Date! ADA35 Rally and March for Disability Rights

On July 23, 2025 at noon, join the disability community to mark the 35th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). This rain-or-shine event will start with a rally at 12:00 pm at City Hall Plaza in Boston and proceed to The Embrace on the Boston Common. A flyer is attached, and more information can be found here.

ADA35BOSTON Flyer