Type:Notice
Citation:86 FR 7732
Reading Time:about 5 minutes
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has updated the poverty guidelines to reflect a 1.2% increase in prices from 2019 to 2020, as measured by the Consumer Price Index. These guidelines help determine eligibility for federal programs like Medicaid. In some cases, due to adjustments in the formula, the guidelines may remain the same as the previous year despite inflation changes. The guidelines are mandated by law and are published annually by HHS, not the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), as some might mistakenly believe.
Simple Explanation
The HHS updated the rules about who is considered "poor" to help decide who can get health care and other help, and these rules use information about how prices went up over the past year.