But they ARE citizens...

US Tightens Medicaid Rules for Babies of Illegal Aliens

In the past, Medicaid was extended to mothers who fell within the right income bracket regardless of immigrantion status on an emergency-only basis, and then it was automatically extended to a child born to that mother, because it was obviously a citizen with a verifiable birth place in the US. This was to prevent delays in care. Now a Bush Administration reading of a law signed in February will require all babies to go through an application process that could take anywhere from days to months to begin their coverage--potentially delaying care for many babies. Medicaid pays for a full 1/3 of babies born in this country, so the impact is great. Tens of thousands of those children are born to illegal immigrants, so they represent a small percentage of the total. However, in the case of illegal immigrants, the fear is that many will simply not apply in fear of coming to the attention of immigration authorities. By doing this, babies who are citizens of this country, are entitled to coverage, and who are at their most vulnerable in terms of health, are put in the position of not being able to obtain health care.

Sara Rosenbaum, a professor of health law at George Washington University, said: “The new policy reflects a tortured reading of the new law and is contrary to the language of the 1984 statute, which Congress did not change. The whole purpose of the earlier law, passed with bipartisan support, was to make sure that a baby would not have a single day’s break in coverage from the date of birth through the first year of life.”

I agree that non-citizens should not be covered under our health care system, but their children born here are citizens and there should be no delay in coverage. Thank you, Mr Bush, for yet another convoluted mess that does not serve the interests of the country.