(a) Statutory basis. (1) Section 1843 of the Act, as amended through 1969, permitted a State to enter into an agreement with the Secretary to enroll in the SMI program certain individuals who are eligible for SMI and who are members of the buy-in group specified in the agreement. A buy-in group could include certain individuals receiving Federally-aided State cash assistance (with the option of excluding individuals also entitled to social security benefits or railroad retirement benefits) or could include all individuals eligible for Medicaid. Before 1981, December 31, 1969 was the last day on which a State could request a buy-in agreement or a modification to include a coverage group broader than the one originally selected.

(2) Section 945(e) of the Omnibus Reconciliation Act of 1980 (Pub. L. 96-499) further amended section 1843 to provide that, during calendar year 1981, a State could request a buy-in agreement if it did not already have one, or request a broader coverage group for an existing agreement.

(3) Several laws enacted during 1980-1987 had the effect of requiring that the buy-in groups available under section 1843 of the Act be expanded to include certain individuals who lose eligibility for cash assistance payments but are treated as if they were cash assistance beneficiaries for Medicaid eligibility purposes.

(4) Section 301(e)(1) of the Medicare Catastrophic Coverage Act of 1988 (Pub. L. 100-360) amends section 1843 of the Act to restore the 1981 provisions on a permanent basis, effective “after 1988.”

(5) The same section 301, as amended by section 608(d)(14)(H) of the Family Support Act of 1988 (Pub. L. 100-485), further amended section 1843 of the Act, beginning January 1, 1989, to establish a new buy-in category consisting of Qualified Medicare Beneficiaries and to provide that a State may request a buy-in agreement if it does not already have one, or request a broader buy-in group for the existing agreement.

(6) Section 4501 of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990 (Pub. L. 101-508) established the Specified Low-Income Medicare Beneficiary or SLMB eligibility group effective January 1993.

(7) Section 4732 of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 (Pub. L. 105-33) established the Qualifying Individual or QI eligibility group effective January 1998.

(8) Section 112 of the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008 (Pub. L. 110-275) increased the resource standard for QMB, SLMB, and QI to 3 times the maximum resources available under the Supplemental Security Income program, adjusted annually by increases in the Consumer Price Index effective January 1, 2010.

(9) Title II, section 211, of the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (Pub. L. 114-10), effective April 16, 2015, permanently extended the QI eligibility group.

(10) Title II, section 402 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 (Pub. L. 116-260), effective January 1, 2023, expands QMB, SLMB, and QI to cover individuals who are enrolled in Medicare Part B for coverage of immunosuppressive drugs.

(b) Definitions. As used in this subpart, unless the context indicates otherwise—

Buy-in group means a coverage group described in section 1843 of the Act that is identified by the State and is composed of multiple Medicaid eligibility groups specified in the buy-in agreement.

Cash assistance means any of the following kinds of monthly cash benefits, authorized by specified titles of the Act and, for convenience, represented by initials, as follows:

AABD stands for aid to the aged, blind or disabled under the first title XVI of the Act in effect until December 31, 1973.

AB stands for aid to the blind under title X of the Act.

AFDC stands for aid to families with dependent children under Part A of title IV of the Act, as it was in effect on July 16, 1996.

APTD stands for aid to the permanently and totally disabled under title XIV of the Act.

OAA stands for old-age assistance under title I of the Act.

SSI stands for supplemental security income for the aged, blind, and disabled under the second title XVI of the Act, effective January 1, 1974.

SSP stands for State supplementary payments, whether mandatory or optional, to an aged, blind, or disabled individual under the second title XVI or the Act.

Railroad retirement beneficiary means an individual entitled to receive an annuity under the Railroad Retirement Act of 1974.

1634 State means a State that has an agreement with SSA, in accordance with section 1634 of the Act, for SSA to determine Medicaid eligibility on behalf of the State for individuals residing in the State whom the SSA has determined eligible for SSI.

State means one of the 50 States, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, or the Northern Mariana Islands, except when reference is made to “the 50 States”.

State buy-in agreement or buy-in agreement means an agreement authorized or modified by section 1843 or 1818(g) of the Act, under which a State secures Part B or premium Part A coverage for individuals who are members of the buy-in group specified in the agreement, by enrolling them and paying the premiums on their behalf. A State's submission of a State plan amendment addressing its buy-in process, if approved by CMS, constitutes the “buy-in agreement” between the State and CMS for purposes of sections 1843 and 1818(g) of the Act.

(c) Basic rules. (1) A State that has a buy-in agreement in effect must enroll any individual who is eligible to enroll in SMI under § 407.10 and who is a member of the buy-in group, with the State paying the premiums on the individual's behalf. Individuals enrolled in the buy-in group can enroll in Part B at any time of the year, without regard to Medicare enrollment periods.

(2) Any State that does not have a buy-in agreement in effect may request buy-in for any one of the groups specified in §§ 407.42 and 407.43.

(3) Any State that does have an agreement may request a modification to cover a broader buy-in group or cancel its current agreement and request a new agreement to cover a narrower group.

(4) Any State that has a buy-in agreement in effect must participate in daily exchanges of enrollment data with CMS.

(5) In a 1634 State, CMS enrolls SSI beneficiaries in Medicare Part B, on behalf of the State, with the State paying the beneficiary's Part B premiums.

(6) Premiums paid under a State buy-in agreement are not subject to increase because of late enrollment or reenrollment.