Enrollment In Rhode Island's Medicaid Program Drops By 6,000 In Past Year
In January, the federal government began to enforce new rules under the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 that require Medicaid beneficiaries and applicants to provide proof of their U.S. citizenship. Advocates say that the new rules make it difficult for eligible state residents to enroll in RIte Care and are responsible for the sharp decline in enrollment in the past six months.
Linda Katz, policy director for the Poverty Institute at Rhode Island College, said that each document required for Medicaid enrollment, including an official copy of a birth certificate and four pay stubs, is "another piece of paper that has to be in someone's file before eligibility can be determined and another reason for denying them if they fail to get that piece of paper in there." Katz said the group losing Medicaid coverage "is not people who are not citizens. It's people who can't afford to get the documents they need to present."
A greater decline in enrollment is expected starting in November, when the proof-of-citizenship requirements begin to apply to renewals, advocates say. Supporters of the proof-of-citizenship requirements say they will reduce fraud and abuse within state Medicaid programs, according to the Journal (Gudrais, Providence Journal, 9/4).
Reprinted with kind permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation© 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.
Înscriere În Rhode Island's Medicaid Program Creeaza Prin 6000 În ultimul an - Enrollment In Rhode Island's Medicaid Program Drops By 6,000 In Past Year - articole medicale engleza - startsanatate