Feds quietly greenlit Medicaid funding for rent weeks before Biden left office

The federal government gave the greenlight in January for Vermont to use funds from Medicaid to cover the cost of rent for homeless individuals who have certain medical needs in the state.

The State of Vermont Agency of Human Services (AHS) reached an agreement with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services that allows the state to allocate Medicaid funds to pay rent for certain homeless Vermonters for up to six months, according to a Jan. 17 press release. The amendment approval also grants medical respite services for up to six months for individuals who are homeless or at risk of homelessness in the state.

Medical respite settings provide a “place for individuals transitioning out of institutional settings who are at risk of inpatient hospitalizations or emergency department visits to recover and receive care,” according to the AHS.

The federal government additionally granted Vermont permission to use up to $10.9 million to grow the programs and hire staff. This benefit could be available as soon as Jan. 1, 2026, according to the agency.

“Our goal is to make sure that people are getting care in the right place, at the right time, at the right level,” Monica Ogelby, Vermont’s Medicaid director, said. “You might not need to go to the emergency department on a cold night if you have a place to live.”

The program may not take effect immediately, as both federal and state officials would need to approve funding for the new initiatives, VTDigger reported. Ogelby said that the services would be made available for people with significant mental health disorders, or who have a chronic, lifelong condition such as an intellectual or developmental disability.

“We’re talking about people that might need help with, you know, eating, bathing, dressing themselves,” Ogelby added, according to the outlet.

In Vermont, 3,458 people experienced homelessness in 2024, 855 of whom were reported to have experienced a severe mental illness.

The amendment was passed with just weeks remaining in former President Joe Biden’s term, as his successor, President Donald Trump, has eyed funding cuts across several government programs — which could include Medicaid, some lawmakers say. The program has quickly become one of the nation’s largest expenditures, making up 18% of the total national health expenditure in the U.S. and reaching $817.7 billion in 2023. As of October 2024, 72,058,701 people were enrolled in Medicaid nationwide.

The State of Vermont Agency of Human Services referred the Daily Caller News Foundation to its press release when reached for comment.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the DCNF.

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