| Today, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released a Centers for Medicaid and CHIP Services (CMCS) informational bulletin (CIB) that provides further guidance for states that wish to incorporate new optional questions on sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) into their Medicaid/Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) applications. On November 1, 2023, CMS began asking three new optional SOGI questions on the single, streamlined application. While states are neither required to add these questions to their Medicaid/CHIP applications, nor are applicants required to respond to these questions, states that opt to collect this information can use that data to gain a better understanding of the people they serve and improve consumer experience. This CIB discusses the processes states should follow if they would like to incorporate these new SOGI questions into their Medicaid/CHIP applications. The CIB also discusses the safeguards states must provide to protect the confidentiality of all applicant and beneficiary data they collect, including any SOGI data. Finally, this CIB provides an update on the CMS collection of SOGI data for the Transformed Medicaid Statistical Information System (T-MSIS). |
