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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.
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