The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, through the\u00a0Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services,\u00a0has issued an informational bulletin to states\u2019 Medicaid and Children\u2019s Health Insurance Program agencies\u00a0reaffirming that the\u00a02019 Public Charge Final Rule\u2014\u201cInadmissibility on Public Charge Grounds\u201d\u2014is no longer in effect and states should encourage their eligible immigrant populations to access public benefits related to health and housing.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Consistent with the Department of Homeland Security\u2019s currently applicable 1999 guidance on public charge inadmissibility, accessing Medicaid\u00a0benefits, for example, will usually have no bearing on anyone\u2019s immigration status.\u00a0Last Thursday\u2019s\u00a0informational\u00a0bulletin\u00a0to states\u00a0emphasizes that the 2019 Rule is no longer in place and underscores DHS\u2019 call to action enlisting federal partners to ensure eligible immigrants are informed of these changes and their right to access public benefits like Medicaid, if applicable.<\/p>\n
DHS will no longer consider a person\u2019s receipt of Medicaid (except Medicaid for long-term institutionalization) as a part of a public charge determination when deciding immigration status.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs President Biden made clear in his executive order restoring faith in our legal immigration systems, we must reduce fear and confusion among immigrant communities who rely on critical benefits that are available to them by law,\u201d said HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra. \u201cWe invite states and our community partners to spread this message far and wide: we are here to help and the public charge rule is no longer in effect. All our communities deserve the peace of mind that comes with having access to quality care.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
CMS is reaching out to states\u00a0and\u00a0encouraging them\u00a0to work with local partners and community groups\u00a0to\u00a0provide this important\u00a0information so that individuals needing health care coverage are not afraid to apply for coverage through Medicaid and CHIP. While the public charge rule was never applicable to CHIP, CMS recognizes that misinformation and fear of immigration retribution likely kept some eligible families from seeking this health coverage for their children. It is critical that eligible immigrants and their families have access to necessary health care services, including those covered by Medicaid and CHIP, to keep their families safe and healthy.<\/p>\n
\u201cHealth care is a right, not a privilege, and no one should be deterred from accessing the care they need out of fear. Accessing health coverage through Medicaid or CHIP will not risk immigration status,\u201d said CMS Administrator\u00a0Chiquita\u00a0Brooks-LaSure. \u201cThe Biden-Harris\u00a0Administration\u00a0is committed to\u00a0making sure\u00a0people have access to programs that keep them safe and healthy.\u201d<\/p>\n
The bulletin\u00a0ensures that Medicaid and CHIP agencies have a clear understanding that the DHS regulation\u2014\u201cInadmissibility on Public Charge Grounds Final Rule\u201d\u2014has been vacated and DHS is now following the 1999 Field Guidance on Public Charge, which is the policy in place prior to the 2019 Final Rule.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The 2019 Final Rule may have deterred immigrants from seeking for themselves and their families, including their children, critical government services that are legally available to them.\u00a0The bulletin reminds states about their responsibilities to protect the rights of Medicaid applicants and their families.<\/p>\n
States are prohibited from sharing a Medicaid applicant\u2019s or beneficiary\u2019s information for reasons outside of administering the state\u2019s Medicaid plan, such as determining eligibility or providing services.\u00a0States\u00a0also have an obligation\u00a0to keep applicant information safeguarded and protected,\u00a0and they are\u00a0generally\u00a0– PDF\u00a0prohibited from sharing\u00a0applicant\u00a0information\u00a0with DHS.<\/p>\n
To read a copy of the\u00a0full\u00a0Informational Bulletin,\u00a0 visit:\u00a0https:\/\/www.medicaid.gov\/federal-policy-guidance\/downloads\/cib072221.pdf\u00a0– PDF. (PR)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, through the\u00a0Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services,\u00a0has…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":28,"featured_media":348838,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[1085,1061],"class_list":["post-348777","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local-news","tag-dhs","tag-hhs"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/348777","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/28"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=348777"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/348777\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/348838"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=348777"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=348777"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=348777"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}