Thursday, August 04, 2005
Who's on Medicaid?
[Kevin Freking, "Cracks Found in Medicaid Verification," The Las Vegas Sun, 3 August 2005.]
A new report from the Department of Health and Human Services indicates that states may be paying Medicaid benefits out to noncitizens:
A majority of states don't verify claims of U.S. citizenship by those seeking Medicaid, which creates the potential for illegal immigrants to access the health care program, an inspector general's report has found.
"The quality assurance checks aren't there. That's how we see it," said Jodi Nudelman, an acting regional inspector general for the Department of Health and Human Services. "And it's our sense the people may not be aware of that."
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services responded that it agreed that states should have systems in place to ensure the citizenship of applicants. However, it also noted that the IG's report raises only a potential problem.
In some cases, newly arrived legal immigrants, as well as illegal immigrants, can lawfully access Medicaid, but such coverage is greatly limited to emergency care.
[Kevin Freking, "Cracks Found in Medicaid Verification," The Las Vegas Sun, 3 August 2005.]
A new report from the Department of Health and Human Services indicates that states may be paying Medicaid benefits out to noncitizens:
A majority of states don't verify claims of U.S. citizenship by those seeking Medicaid, which creates the potential for illegal immigrants to access the health care program, an inspector general's report has found.
"The quality assurance checks aren't there. That's how we see it," said Jodi Nudelman, an acting regional inspector general for the Department of Health and Human Services. "And it's our sense the people may not be aware of that."
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services responded that it agreed that states should have systems in place to ensure the citizenship of applicants. However, it also noted that the IG's report raises only a potential problem.
In some cases, newly arrived legal immigrants, as well as illegal immigrants, can lawfully access Medicaid, but such coverage is greatly limited to emergency care.
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