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Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in House · Oct 1, 2026
Expanded Coverage for Former Foster Youth Act
This bill modifies provisions relating to the coverage of former foster youths under Medicaid.
Under current law, a state Medicaid program must cover former foster youths until the age of 26 if the youths were in a state's foster care system at the age of 18 and were enrolled in a state's Medicaid program while in foster care. The bill requires state Medicaid programs to also cover former foster youths who were placed in a legal guardianship with a kinship caregiver or were emancipated from foster care before the age of 18. The bill repeals the provision that requires former foster youths to have been enrolled in a state Medicaid program while in foster care in order to qualify for Medicaid coverage until the age of 26.
The bill also requires states to establish Medicaid outreach and enrollment programs for former foster youths.
People & committees
Rep. Kamlager-Dove, Sydney [D-CA-37] · D–CA
Legislative record
A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.
Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We also preserved the text version used in the PlainBill explanation below.
Source last updated: Oct 16, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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PlainBill explanation
Based on the full Introduced in House · 2026-10-01 text. This explanation has not received human editorial review. This overview describes the proposal’s major provisions; it does not establish what its real-world effects would be.
The proposed Expanded Coverage for Former Foster Youth Act would set state medical-assistance eligibility rules for certain former foster youth under 26, subject to other eligibility conditions. It includes people who left foster care for legal guardianship with a kinship caregiver or through emancipation before 18. The eligibility amendment would apply to people turning 18 on or after January 1, 2027. States would also have to establish programs to help eligible people enroll.
This Act may be cited as the Expanded Coverage for Former Foster Youth Act.
(aa) are under 26 years of age; (bb) are not described in and are not enrolled under any of subclauses (I) through (VII) of this clause or are described in any of such subclauses but have income that exceeds the level of income applicable under the State plan for eligibility to enroll for medical assistance under such subclause; and (cc) were in foster care under the responsibility of a State on the date of attaining 18 years of age (or such higher age as such State has elected under section 475(8)(B)(iii)), or were in such care at any age but subsequently left such care to enter into a legal guardianship with a kinship caregiver (without regard to whether kinship guardianship payments are being made on behalf of the child under this part), or were emancipated from such care prior to attaining age 18;
The amendment made by subsection (a) shall take effect on January 1, 2027, and shall apply with respect to individuals who attain 18 years of age on or after that date.
not later than January 1, 2027, establish an outreach and enrollment program
The proposed eligibility category would require people to be under 26. They would also have to either fall outside—and not be enrolled under—the other eligibility categories labeled (I) through (VII), or fit one of those categories but have income above its state eligibility limit. The supplied text does not explain those other categories.
(aa) are under 26 years of age; (bb) are not described in and are not enrolled under any of subclauses (I) through (VII) of this clause or are described in any of such subclauses but have income that exceeds the level of income applicable under the State plan for eligibility to enroll for medical assistance under such subclause;
One way to meet the proposed foster-care requirement would be to have been in foster care under a state's responsibility on the person's 18th birthday, or at a higher age elected by that state under the referenced law.
were in foster care under the responsibility of a State on the date of attaining 18 years of age (or such higher age as such State has elected under section 475(8)(B)(iii))
The foster-care requirement could also be met by someone who left state-responsibility foster care at any age to enter legal guardianship with a kinship caregiver, whether or not kinship guardianship payments were being made. Another qualifying route would be emancipation from that care before age 18.
were in foster care under the responsibility of a State
or were in such care at any age but subsequently left such care to enter into a legal guardianship with a kinship caregiver (without regard to whether kinship guardianship payments are being made on behalf of the child under this part), or were emancipated from such care prior to attaining age 18;
The eligibility amendment would take effect January 1, 2027, and apply only to people who turn 18 on or after that date. It would not extend this amendment to everyone already under 26 on that date.
The amendment made by subsection (a) shall take effect on January 1, 2027, and shall apply with respect to individuals who attain 18 years of age on or after that date.
States would have to establish outreach and enrollment programs by January 1, 2027, aimed at increasing enrollment among people eligible under this provision. Programs would coordinate with the state agency administering the specified Social Security Act plan and other appropriate or interested agencies, and follow best practices established by the Secretary. Increased enrollment is the stated aim, not an established result.
(91) not later than January 1, 2027, establish an outreach and enrollment program, in coordination with the State agency responsible for administering the State plan under part E of title IV and any other appropriate or interested agencies, designed to increase the enrollment of individuals who are eligible for medical assistance under the State plan under paragraph (10)(A)(i)(IX) in accordance with best practices established by the Secretary.
The supplied action snapshot, updated October 16, 2026, records introduction in the House and referral to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce on October 1, 2026. It does not establish subsequent legislative action or enactment.
Source snapshot updated 2026-10-16T20:01:18Z. 2026-10-01: Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. 2026-10-01: Introduced in House
A closer look
Reviewed version: Introduced in House · 2026-10-01. These findings describe provisions and who may benefit; they are not judgments of waste, corruption, or motive.
This review covers the supplied bill text. “None identified” does not rule out provisions in later versions or accompanying reports and disclosures.
Provisions outside the bill’s main subject, or policy changes attached to appropriations.
None identified in the reviewed text
No unrelated provision or appropriations policy rider was identified in the complete supplied introduced-text version. This conclusion does not establish absence in other versions or accompanying materials.
Spending directed to particular recipients or places outside ordinary competitive or formula-based allocation.
None identified in the reviewed text
No congressionally directed spending for particular recipients or places was identified in the complete supplied introduced-text version. This conclusion does not establish absence in other versions or accompanying materials.
Narrow exceptions, exemptions, or preferential treatment that warrant a closer look.
None identified in the reviewed text
No narrow preferential carve-out beyond the policy's intended eligibility population was identified in the complete supplied introduced-text version. Coverage of intended beneficiaries alone is not a targeted-benefit finding. This conclusion does not extend to other versions or accompanying materials.
Full text preserved for this analysis. Legislative record snapshot: Oct 16, 2026. How PlainBill uses AI