The Administration has issued proposed rules which would vastly expand the definition
of "public charge" - someone who is dependent on government benefits
and thus may be denied a green card – to include those who participate in
numerous safety net programs used by millions of working Americans, such as
Medicaid, SNAP and potentially CHIP. Current policy states that medical assistance
counts as evidence of public charge only when it is used to pay for long-term institutional
care. Cash benefits and income are also part of the public charge
determination. The proposed rules can be found at: https://www.regulations.gov/document?D=USCIS-2010-0012-0001
The American Academy of Pediatrics,
Health Care for All and a number of health care organizations are opposing the
rule, which could significantly deter families and children from seeking
critical health care and other services for which they are eligible. As
the American Academy of Pediatrics notes: The families who will be most affected by the public charge
proposal are the ones who are seeking to become legal U.S. residents. As a result, these families will almost
certainly avoid seeking services for which they are eligible, such as health
insurance and food assistance. The Fiscal Policy Institute estimates that
the chilling effect of the public charge proposal would extend to 24 million
people in the United States, including 9 million children.
The MMS will be commenting in opposition to the proposal.
MMS policy states: The MMS reaffirms its commitment to
working for the best possible health care for every patient in the Commonwealth
regardless of racial identification, national or ethnic origin, sexual
orientation, gender identity, religious affiliation, disability, immigration
status, or economic status. MMS House of Delegates, 12/3/16. The
MMS’s comments will be posted on this site shortly.
You can make
your voice heard as well. Comments are
due to the Office of Homeland Security by December 10, 2018.
The following links provide additional information on
the proposal, templates for comments and a link to submit comments.
https://www.commonwealthfund.org/blog/2018/new-public-charge-rule-affecting-immigrants-has-major-implications-medicaid
https://www.hcfama.org/updates/trump-administration-wants-take-away-health-care-food-and-housing-immigrant-families
Health Care For All
Public Charge Advocacy Toolkit – American Academy of
Pediatrics
https://downloads.aap.org/DOFA/PublicChargeToolkit2018.pdf
You can submit comments here.
