Medicaid program; deadline for submitting moratorium state plan amendments--HCFA. Notice

This notice announces the deadline for Medicaid State agencies to submit State plan amendments requesting moratorium protection under section 2373(c) of the Deficit Reduction Act of 1984, as amended by the Medicare and Medicaid Patient and Program Protection Act of 1987. Section 2373(c) initiated a moratorium period during which HCFA cannot take any compliance, disallowance, penalty or other regulatory action against a State agency whose State plan contains an income or resource methodology or standard for determining eligibility for medically needy and certain categorically needy groups that is less restrictive than the required standard or methodology. This notice provides formal notification to States that plan amendments requesting moratorium protection will not be accepted after the last day of the first full calendar quarter following publication of this notice in the Federal Register.