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Ice on Immigration: Medicaid Eligibility of Infants of Undocumented Mothers

By L. Patricia Ice, Featured Columnist

Note: On 22, March, the Hispanic American Village contacted Sonal Ambegaokar of the National Immigrant Law Center.  She informed us that, just the day before, a ruling came down affirming Medicaid eligibility for at least one year for any infant whose delivery was covered by Medicaid, whether emergency or standard.  This ruling alleviates concerns expressed by our columnist, L. Patricia Ice, about the denial of care to newborns of undocumented mothers.  (Georgia had been the most identified state following this now-disallowed practice, with some reports that Kentucky and Virginia were also involved.)

If, due to bureaucratic or other delays in implementing the regulation, care is denied to any newborn, the patient is advised to appeal to the state’s local Medicaid agency.

To read the CMS (Center for Medicaid Services) press release on eligibility, click here.

Question: I am an undocumented immigrant, but my baby was born in the United States. Is he eligible to receive Medicaid?

Answer:  If your baby was born in the United States, he is a citizen. All U.S. citizen infants remain eligible for Medicaid, regardless of the immigration status of their mothers. Federal Medicaid law provides that newborns whose mothers are receiving Medicaid at the time of birth are automatically eligible for Medicaid and receive immediate and continuous coverage during their first year of life. However, a preamble to a federal regulation regarding the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (DRA) issued in July 2006 stated an opinion that U.S. citizen babies of immigrant women with Emergency Medicaid coverage should not be automatically granted Medicaid eligibility. Thus, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), a U.S. federal agency which administers Medicare, Medicaid, and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, took the position that newborn infants of immigrant women with Emergency Medicaid must submit a new application and are subject to the citizenship requirements of the DRA. However, this position is inconsistent with longstanding federal law which provides for automatic Medicaid eligibility to newborn citizen children whose mothers are already receiving Medicaid regardless of whether it is Emergency or full Medicaid coverage. Most states apply the longstanding federal law correctly by providing automatic Medicaid eligibility to newborn citizens. Other states have taken the statements in the preamble to mean that U.S. citizen babies of immigrant women on Emergency Medicaid should be denied automatic eligibility. Not only does this practice contradict federal law, but it has also been found to be unconstitutional. The preamble’s language was not required by and has nothing to do with the DRA’s Medicaid citizenship rule. Therefore, all United States citizen infants are eligible for Medicaid.