Protecting Seniors and People with Disabilities: Why It Is Important to Preserve the Maintenance of Effort Requirement in the Affordable Care Act

The Affordable Care Act prohibits states from reducing their Medicaid eligibility levels. This protection is called the “maintenance of effort,” or MOE, requirement. Removing this protection would allow states to cut Medicaid eligibility, which could cause millions of seniors and people with disabilities to lose their insurance. It would also burden the family members who care for them, which would have economic consequences for businesses, communities, and state economies.

These national and state fact sheets list the numbers of seniors and people with disabilities who depend on Medicaid, as well as the number of family caregivers who could be harmed if this provision were eliminated.