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New Medicaid Rules for Immigrant Births Take Shape from Texas Policy

Federal guidelines published earlier this year for Medicaid eligibility to the babies of illegal immigrant have taken effect which require the filing by a parent of a separate Medicaid application for a newborn child of an undocumented immigrant as opposed to automatically enrolling babies.

Health care advocates were critical of the regulation, deeming it "discriminatory" and a "barrier" to care for children of naturalized citizens. In October, the American Academy of Pediatrics accused Tennessee , Georgia , Kentucky , and Virginia of denying Medicaid coverage to babies born to undocumented immigrants. Leslie Norwalk, administrator for the Centers for Medicare/Medicaid Services, said the agency contacted the Medicaid officials from these states, and found no cases where U.S. citizen babies were denied benefits. Norwalk said the new policy was required by the Deficit Reduction Act, signed into law in February by President Bush.

Sonal Ambegaokar, a health policy attorney with the National Immigration Law Center , said the new regulations may not lead to a complete lack of coverage, but the potential exists to delay medical care at a critical time for a newborn. "It is creating barriers to care," she said. "These U.S. citizen children normally would be seen by doctors, but they’re not being seen."

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