However, according to a report from a San Diego television station (KPBS), critics fear the law could limit access to healthcare for legal residents.
Currently, the report says, Medicaid applicants in most states can simply self-certify that they're legally entitled to the benefits.
John Stone, deputy chief of staff for Georgia congressman Charlie Norwood, who authored the bill, says the new guidelines will require people to use passports, birth certificates, or final adoption papers to prove their status. He says if all else fails, applicants can get written affidavits from two U.
S. citizens to verify their citizenship. The Congressional Budget Office reports that this move to eliminate fraudulent payments could save the government as much as $750 million over the next decade.
Zara Marselian of the La Maestra Family Clinic in San Diego thinks the new law is unfair to poor legal residents, many of whom are uninsured.
"We're talking about people who are poor, that need to live with additional families,” points out Marselian. “They're moving from time to time. It's hard to keep track of their documents. Sometimes they lose em. What about the homeless people, what about people that have mental health issues? And then the children."
Stan Rosenstein, director of California’s Medi-Cal program, also hopes for flexibility in the new law.
"We don't want to have to send three million children to get photo ID's over the next year. That would be an impossible task,” says Rosenstein. He believes that up to 650,000 Medi-Cal patients may lack the proper I.D.
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By: rosemarie Posted: Jul 20 2006 11:47:39 AM