until they are legal citizens they have no claim to our social services On Aug 15, 12:33 pm, dick thompson <[email protected]> wrote: > http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2009/08/15/30... > > * Home <http://www.boston.com/> / > * News <http://www.boston.com/news> / > * Local <http://www.boston.com/news/local> / > * Mass. <http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts> > > The Boston Globe <http://www.boston.com/news/globe/> > > Immigrants to soon lose state health insurance > > Interim plan will cover ER and limited services > > By Kay Lazar > <http://search.boston.com/local/Search.do?s.sm.query=Kay+Lazar&camp=lo...> > Globe Staff / August 15, 2009 > > E-mail this article > > To: > Invalid email address > Add a personal message: Your e-mail: > Invalid email address > > Sending your article > > Your article has been sent. > > * Email <javascript:void(0)>| > * Print > > <http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2009/08/15/30...>| > * Reprints <http://www.globereprints.com/>| > * Yahoo! Buzz > > <http://buzz.yahoo.com/buzz?publisherurn=bostoncom751&guid=http%3A%2F%...>| > * ShareThis <javascript:void(0)> > > Text size -- + > > Thirty thousand legal immigrants have begun receiving letters informing > them that their state-subsidized health insurance is ending Aug. 31 and > will be replaced by a patchwork system of care until Massachusetts > officials can piece together a more comprehensive plan for the most > critically ill. > > <http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2009/08/15/30...> > Discuss > COMMENTS (106) > <http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2009/08/15/30...> > > "We know that this may be a hard time for you,'' states an accompanying > note from Dr. JudyAnn Bigby, secretary of Health and Human Services. "We > are committed to finding some way of covering at least some of the costs > of your medical needs.'' > > Left unanswered is what sort of coverage this group will receive and > ultimately what it will cost taxpayers. > > The state's interim plan only covers emergencies and other limited > services, leaving advocates worried about the welfare of these > immigrants. Under the plan, immigrants will be receiving emergency care > in hospitals and a limited number of other services through community > centers under two state programs, the Health Safety Net and MassHealth > Limited. > > * *It is unlikely that they will be able to continue receiving coverage > for routine or preventive care from their current doctors. > > Advocates working with the administration said yesterday that state > officials are concentrating on a longer-term plan that will use > available funds to provide care for those who are the most seriously ill > with cancer and chronic conditions such as diabetes and heart disease. > > "Other people who need treatment or need to be diagnosed or get tests, > we don't know what type of coverage they may be able to have,'' said Eva > A. Millona, executive director of the Massachusetts Immigrant and > Refugee Advocacy Coalition. > > The federal government does not help pay for treating these 30,000 > "special status'' immigrants, typically people who have been here less > than five years and are not yet citizens, and thus they are more > expensive for the state to insure. Many states have dropped coverage for > this class of immigrants, but until now, Massachusetts had continued to > provide comprehensive care. > > Facing huge budget gaps, lawmakers and Governor Deval Patrick's > administration battled much of the spring over coverage for immigrants, > with Patrick insisting that these tax-paying residents were entitled to > full care. Last month, the Legislature approved $40 million for > immigrants' care, $90 million less than the governor requested in his > original proposal. The administration then said that $40 million was not > "sufficient to maintain meaningful coverage or to develop a scaled-back > program.'' > > Yesterday, Patrick administration spokeswoman Cyndi Roy said in an > e-mailed statement that the administration is "still determining how > best to use the $40 million.'' She declined to elaborate. > > When state lawmakers approved the $40 million, they required state > officials to come up with a plan for using it. If they were unable to, > the bill said, the money could be transferred to the Health Safety Net > program, which reimburses hospitals and community centers for care given > to the uninsured poor.* *The Legislature also stipulated that the > Patrick administration could not spend any more than $40 million for the > entire group of immigrants through next June. > > Brian Rosman, research director for the consumer group Health Care for > All, said yesterday that $40 million is not nearly enough to pay for the > coverage outlined in the letters to immigrants, and that the > administration will probably need to seek additional money from the > Legislature by the spring. > > Analysts have warned that next year's state budget may need to be even > tighter than the current spending plan, because the current budget > relies on one-time federal stimulus money and state reserves. > > Part of the state's interim coverage plan for this group relies on > emergency care delivered through hospitals under the Health Safety Net > program. Under law, hospitals cannot turn away patients seeking > emergency care, and Rosman said the hospitals' tab could grow hefty. > > "If demand for services exceeds money available, the law provides for > making proportional cuts to all hospitals,'' he said. "For hospitals on > the front line, that means being underpaid for their services, and that > gets made up in the long run by higher insurance costs for everyone else.'' > > /Kay Lazar can be reached at [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>. / > > © Copyright 2009 Globe Newspaper Company. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum
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