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The Medicaid Documentation MessFrom: Dean Huffman . (dean@thehuffpeople.net)Mon Mar 19 09:57:48 2007
.. Below is a NY Times editorial with which I fully agree. The recent legislation by the federal government to "crack down on illegal aliens receiving free medical care" really hurts our legal residents far more than it should. (I secretly wonder whether or not it was intended to do this). Likewise, the "crackdown on illegal aliens and others who try to vote illegally in the United States" has hardly prevented a single illegal vote from being caast, but has cut down on 2% - 3% of LEGAL voters who either lacked the proper documentation or who were intimitaded by the process. In this case, however, I suspect that the REAL purpose of such legislation in Georgia, Missouri, Florida, and other states, was to eliminate the votes of people more likely to vote Democrat than Republican (the poor, the elderly, the uneducated, the disadvantaged). With the issue of legal vs. illegal status in the country becoming so important, I think it is time that the federal government take the initiative to provide proper identification to ALL legal US citizens. It should be the affirmitive obilgagtio of the federal governement to process the paperwork, pay the fees (e.g., for birth certificates) and do the leg work (e.g., proving citizenship for those lacking birth certificates -- reviewing church records, school records, etc.). For anybody who asks help, it should be the job of the giovernment to prove citizeship and pay the costs. But I digress. The editorial is very good and I would recommend that you read it. - - - - The Medicaid Documentation Mess http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/19/opinion/19mon1.html Published: March 19, 2007 Exaggerated fears that illegal immigrants are fraudulently receiving Medicaid health benefits have led to a crackdown that is preventing tens of thousands of American citizens from obtaining legitimate coverage. Congress, whose mindless actions led to this travesty, needs to fix this injustice. The problem was triggered by last year’s Deficit Reduction Act, which contained provisions requiring applicants for Medicaid, a health insurance program for the poor, to show proof of their citizenship and identity when they apply for or seek to renew coverage. That may not seem unreasonable since eligibility is generally limited to American citizens and certain qualified aliens. But previously most states had simply asked applicants to declare in writing — under penalty of perjury — that they were citizens or qualified immigrants. Now they must submit specified documents, such as birth certificates and passports, which many have difficulty tracking down or paying for. The Bush administration added to the difficulties by requiring people to submit original documents or copies certified by the issuing agency, not simply other copies they might have at hand. The more stringent documentation was the brainchild of two Republican congressmen from Georgia. Never mind that there was little evidence that illegal immigrants were defrauding the program. Now the fruits of that policy are becoming visible. As Robert Pear recently wrote in The Times, at least seven states have reported declines in Medicaid enrollments and traced them to the new requirements. It is hard to be sure how many illegal immigrants were screened out, but state officials think the number is small. Florida believes that nearly all of the people it has excluded for failure to produce documents are American citizens. The most appalling impact falls on infants born to illegal immigrants whose deliveries were paid for by Medicaid. They are American citizens under the 14th Amendment simply by virtue of being born here and used to be covered automatically for a year. Now they must wait until their skittish parents obtain a birth certificate before they can get vital infant care that should begin at birth. Congress needs to move quickly to fix this problem. At a minimum, every poor infant born here ought to be automatically enrolled in Medicaid. Congress also needs to simplify the Medicaid application process instead of making it more onerous. That would be fairer to qualified applicants and could help reduce the ranks of the uninsured.
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