S. 2949 would provide up to $25 million in Fiscal Year 2010 for a Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) program which repatriates U.S. citizens from foreign countries. Repatriation assistance provides temporary assistance to citizens and their dependents who are identified by the Department of State as needing to return from a foreign country to the U.S. but who do not have the resources to do so. In addition to providing temporary assistance directly to repatriates, the program also provides funds to States and other vendors to cover the administrative costs of providing temporary assistance to these individuals. This financial assistance is repayable to the U.S. government, unless waived by the Secretary of HHS. Current law caps payments at $1 million annually.

Additionally, the bill would provide an additional $60 million in funding for the Qualifying Individual (QI) program, which allows States to fund the Medicare Part B premiums of near-poor seniors not eligible for Medicaid. Several States have reported potential shortfalls in their QI programs this year, and the additional funding is intended to resolve those potential deficits. The bill does not extend the QI program, however.

The bill's Haiti funding and the increased QI funds are paid for through transfers from the Medicaid Improvement Fund. The Medicaid Improvement Fund is a program intended to improve the management of the Medicaid program. The legislation cuts $90 million from that fund.