Russ Feingold: Feingold Leads Effort To Ensure Access To Health Care For Vulnerable Citizens

Feingold Calls for Fix to Law Which Has Blocked Thousands of U.S. Citizens from Receiving Health Care Coverage They Are Entitled to Under Medicaid

June 20, 2007 -- Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Russ Feingold is leading the effort to fix a law that is preventing hundreds of thousands of U.S. citizens across the country from receiving crucial health care coverage.

Feingold is urging the Senate Finance Committee to fix the unintended consequences of the Deficit Reduction Act (DRA) of 2005, which has resulted in loss of coverage for low-income U.S. citizens across the country.

A provision, slipped into the final DRA with little awareness or debate, requires proof of citizenship for U.S. citizens applying for or renewing their Medicaid coverage. This was previously a requirement that was left to the discretion of individual states. Since the DRA’s enactment, health care coverage is being delayed or denied for hundreds of thousands of Americans, including many children, who are eligible for Medicaid, but lack the documentation required to enroll in the program.

Rural, Native American, and inner-city communities are among the groups most affected by the documentation requirements.

“We need to fix this problem that is preventing so many people, including tens of thousands of children who are clearly U.S. citizens but simply lack the required documentation, from receiving crucial medical care,” Feingold said. “We have seen examples across the country, including my home state of Wisconsin, of people who have lost or been denied their Medicaid coverage as a result of this law’s unintended consequences. The well being of our most vulnerable citizens should not be jeopardized because of unfair federal regulations.”

Community health centers and other safety-net providers are reporting a substantial decline in the number of their Medicaid patients due to the DRA’s documentation requirements. As of April 2007, over 21,000 Wisconsinites lost Medicaid or were denied coverage solely because they could not satisfy the federal documentation requirements. Other states like Virginia and Kansas have seen similar problems. The National Association of State Medicaid Directors has stated that the citizenship documentation requirements are currently the single greatest barrier to enrolling low-income individuals in Medicaid.

In a letter to the Senate Finance Committee, Feingold and a group of 30 Senate colleagues urged the Committee to modify the DRA requirements and give states the flexibility they need to effectively enroll U.S. citizens in Medicaid. States would still be required to ensure that Medicaid applicants are U.S. citizens.

Source: Senator Russ Feingold

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