States to Get More Medicaid Research Help
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Jun 9, 8:33 PM (ET)
By KEVIN FREKING
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Bush administration moved Friday to grant states more leeway when it comes to what documents they must demand of people trying to access government-sponsored health care for the poor.
Congress passed legislation earlier this year designed to ensure that only citizens or qualified legal immigrants gain access to Medicaid. The legislation requires states, beginning July 1, to obtain documentary evidence of beneficiaries' citizenship or legal status.
When records such as birth certificates or passports are unavailable, states will be allowed to accept sworn affidavits from two people, one of whom cannot be a relative, the administration said. Each witness must attest to having personal knowledge of the events establishing the claim of citizenship. They also will be subject to prosecution if they commit perjury.
"Written affidavits may be used only in rare circumstances when the state is unable to secure evidence of citizenship from another listing," the Department of Health and Human Services said in a news release.
The citizenship requirement was attached to a bill that President Bush signed into law in February spelling out $35 billion in spending cuts over a five-year period. Much of the focus was on slowing the growth in Medicaid.
The bill stated which documents would be acceptable for proving citizenship or legal status, but it also gave the secretary of HHS discretion to allow for additional forms of documentation.
Some health care analysts believe the law, even with the new leeway, will still prevent many of the poorest people from gaining access to health care on a timely basis, and some of those patients will end up in an emergency room, predicted Ron Pollack, executive director of Families USA.
"People who are poorest of the poor and who have the greatest need for health care will join the ranks of the uninsured," Pollack said.
Pollack said the people unable to access the program would include "hundreds of thousands" of citizens and legal immigrants eligible for Medicaid.
"Think of the constituencies of this program. A significant number have disabilities, some with cognitive problems," he said. "Some have very low educational levels, and for many, coming up with documentation is something that will be very difficult."
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