Medicaid enrollment declines due to proof-of-citizenship requirement

Medicaid  Citizenship Documentation Rule Cited  As Main Cause of Medicaid Enrollment Drop

Medicaid application processing delays under new citizenshipdocumentation requirements are the main reason for a 0.5 percentdecrease in Medicaid enrollment in 2007, the first drop in a decade,according to a Kaiser Commission study released Oct. 10.

Birth certificates and other proof of citizenship documents requiredunder the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 are largely responsible for theenrollment decline, according to the study, 50-State Medicaid BudgetSurvey for State Fiscal Years 2007 and 2008.

Lead study author Vernon Smith said the last time the Medicaid programexperienced a reduction in enrollment was in 1998, when enrollmentdeclined 1.9 percent.

Three-quarters of the states (37) said the new documentationrequirements had a negative impact on enrollment, Smith said. Thirty-five states said the requirements increased the time it took to processMedicaid applications and renewals. The new requirements also increasedadministrative costs for 45 states, the study found.

More from KFF:  http://kff.org/medicaid/kcmu101007pkg.cfm