Millions of Americans will Face Difficulties Getting Medicaid Starting July 1
Guidelines announced yesterday carry new requirements likely to impedeMedicaid coverage for millions of the nation’s poor and disabled. Effective July 1, proof of citizenship will be required rather thanmere declarations that had been the standard in most states
The regulations, which were authorized by changes in February to theDeficit Reduction Act of 2005, will affect about 50 million Medicaidrecipients nationwide and nearly 700,000 in Virginia.
“Self-attestation of citizenship and identity is no longer anacceptable practice,” Dennis G. Smith, director of the federal Centersfor Medicare & Medicaid Services wrote state Medicaid directors ina 14-page letter spelling out the changes.
Failure to implement the changes could force withdrawal of federalMedicaid funds. The guidelines also carry requirements for extensivecross-checking of Social Security and other records.
Sharply criticized by immigrant advocates for months as a means ofachieving tens of millions of dollars in savings by blocking Medicaidpayments to illegal immigrants, the regulations set up complex methodsof identification and citizenship documentation using birthcertificates and other identification papers.
Read more in the Richmond (VA) Times-Dispatch.
A CMS Fact Sheet and other official information about the new proof-of-citizenship requirement is available on the CMS website.