C
Chad Harris
Arrogance, delusion and stupidity that amounted to death in Iraq; death to
infants as the new policy not to treat them takes over; death to thousands
because of the mornic non-support of embryonic stem cell research, Taliban
control this morning in Afghanistan; and simply the most incompetent
presidency in history and a disastrous second term has resulted in some of
the most destructive arrogant Senators and House members who exherted no
oversight, many of them funnelling millions in campaign funds to their wives
and in one case a daughter in sham PR shops, many of them pending federal
indictment.
A very constructive move would be to go in and clean out their offices right
now and leave ahead of December.
Microsoft will have to funnel their money to some new lobbyists instead of
$27,000 a month as they did millions to Ralph Reed in the corrupt Abramoff
camp.
I'll always remember the pandering border fence bill passed but not a penny
funded and I'll always remember Cheney saying he's not running so he can do
whatever he wants in Iraq (5 deferments no one in his family in the Armed
Forces).
Hopefully Bush will announce he'll do whatever he wants this morning as the
oversight Jaws music plays and he finds out who controls his purse.
I love the hypocrisy of blocking embryonic stems by veto allegedly for the
sancity of life (blastocysts) while 450,000 frozen embryos are trashed, and
passing legislation with the Senate Majority leader a physician pushing
legislation that cuts off treatment of critically ill babies.
Compassionate Conservatism: Raising Revenues for Big Oil and Cutting off
Treatment of Babies (Try to figure out why you got your butts booted
morons!)
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/03/washington/03medicaid.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
November 3, 2006
Medicaid Wants Citizenship Proof for Infant Care
By ROBERT PEAR
WASHINGTON, Nov. 2 — Under a new federal policy, children born in the United
States to illegal immigrants with low incomes will no longer be
automatically entitled to health insurance through Medicaid, Bush
administration officials said Thursday.
Doctors and hospitals said the policy change would make it more difficult
for such infants, who are United States citizens, to obtain health care
needed in the first year of life.
Illegal immigrants are generally barred from Medicaid but can get coverage
for treatment of emergency medical conditions, including labor and delivery.
In the past, once a woman received emergency care under Medicaid for the
birth of a baby, the child was deemed eligible for coverage as well, and
states had to cover the children for one year from the date of birth.
Under the new policy, an application must be filed for the child, and the
parents must provide documents to prove the child’s citizenship.
The documentation requirements took effect in July, but some states have
been slow to enforce them, and many doctors are only now becoming aware of
the effects on newborns.
Obtaining a birth certificate can take weeks in some states, doctors said.
Moreover, they said, illegal immigrant parents may be reluctant to go to a
state welfare office to file applications because they fear contact with
government agencies that could report their presence to immigration
authorities.
Administration officials said the change was necessary under their reading
of a new law, the Deficit Reduction Act, signed by President Bush in
February. The law did not mention newborns, but generally tightened
documentation requirements because some lawmakers were concerned that
immigrants were fraudulently claiming United States citizenship to get
Medicaid.
Marilyn E. Wilson, a spokeswoman for the Tennessee Medicaid program, said:
“The federal government told us we have no latitude. All states must change
their policies and practices. We will not be able to cover any services for
the newborn until a Medicaid application is filed. That could be days, weeks
or months after the child is born.”
About four million babies are born in the United States each year, and
Medicaid pays for more than one-third of all births. The number involving
illegal immigrant parents is unknown but is likely to be in the tens of
thousands, health experts said.
Doctors and hospitals denounced the policy change and denied that it was
required by the new law. Dr. Jay E. Berkelhamer, president of the American
Academy of Pediatrics, said the policy “punishes babies who, according to
the Constitution, are citizens because they were born here.”
Dr. Martin C. Michaels, a pediatrician in Dalton, Ga., said that continuous
coverage in the first year of life was important because “newborns need care
right from the start.”
“Some Americans may want to grant amnesty to undocumented immigrants, and
others may want to send them home,” Dr. Michaels said. “But the children who
are born here had no say in that debate.”
Under a 1984 law, infants born to pregnant women on Medicaid are in most
cases deemed eligible for Medicaid for one year.
In an interview on Thursday, Leslie V. Norwalk, acting administrator of the
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said the new policy “reflects
what the new law says in terms of eligibility.”
“When emergency Medicaid pays for a birth,” Ms. Norwalk said, “the child is
not automatically deemed eligible. But the child could apply and could
qualify for Medicaid because of the family’s poverty status. If anyone knows
about a child being denied care, we want to know about it. Please step up
and tell us.”
Under federal law, hospitals generally have to examine and treat patients
who need emergency care, regardless of their ability to pay. So the new
policy is most likely to affect access to other types of care, including
preventive services and treatment for infections and chronic conditions,
doctors said.
Representative Charlie Norwood, Republican of Georgia, was a principal
architect of the new law.
“Charlie’s intent was that every person receiving Medicaid needs to provide
documentation,” said John E. Stone, a spokesman for Mr. Norwood, who is a
dentist and has been active on health care issues. “With newborns, there
should be no problem. All you have to do is provide a birth certificate or
hospital records verifying birth.”
But Dr. Berkelhamer disagreed. Even when the children are eligible for
Medicaid, he said, illegal immigrants may be afraid to apply because of “the
threat of deportation.”
The new policy “will cost the health care system more in the long run,” Dr.
Berkelhamer added, because children of illegal immigrants may go without
immunizations, preventive care and treatments needed in the first year of
life.
Doctors, children’s hospitals and advocacy groups have been urging states to
preserve the old policy on Medicaid eligibility for children born to illegal
immigrants.
Sara Rosenbaum, a professor of health law at George Washington University,
said: “The new policy reflects a tortured reading of the new law and is
contrary to the language of the 1984 statute, which Congress did not change.
The whole purpose of the earlier law, passed with bipartisan support, was to
make sure that a baby would not have a single day’s break in coverage from
the date of birth through the first year of life.”
California has objected to the new policy. S. Kimberly Belshé, secretary of
the California Health and Human Services Agency, said: “By virtue of being
born in the United States, a child is a U.S. citizen. What more proof does
the federal government need?”
CH
infants as the new policy not to treat them takes over; death to thousands
because of the mornic non-support of embryonic stem cell research, Taliban
control this morning in Afghanistan; and simply the most incompetent
presidency in history and a disastrous second term has resulted in some of
the most destructive arrogant Senators and House members who exherted no
oversight, many of them funnelling millions in campaign funds to their wives
and in one case a daughter in sham PR shops, many of them pending federal
indictment.
A very constructive move would be to go in and clean out their offices right
now and leave ahead of December.
Microsoft will have to funnel their money to some new lobbyists instead of
$27,000 a month as they did millions to Ralph Reed in the corrupt Abramoff
camp.
I'll always remember the pandering border fence bill passed but not a penny
funded and I'll always remember Cheney saying he's not running so he can do
whatever he wants in Iraq (5 deferments no one in his family in the Armed
Forces).
Hopefully Bush will announce he'll do whatever he wants this morning as the
oversight Jaws music plays and he finds out who controls his purse.
I love the hypocrisy of blocking embryonic stems by veto allegedly for the
sancity of life (blastocysts) while 450,000 frozen embryos are trashed, and
passing legislation with the Senate Majority leader a physician pushing
legislation that cuts off treatment of critically ill babies.
Compassionate Conservatism: Raising Revenues for Big Oil and Cutting off
Treatment of Babies (Try to figure out why you got your butts booted
morons!)
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/03/washington/03medicaid.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
November 3, 2006
Medicaid Wants Citizenship Proof for Infant Care
By ROBERT PEAR
WASHINGTON, Nov. 2 — Under a new federal policy, children born in the United
States to illegal immigrants with low incomes will no longer be
automatically entitled to health insurance through Medicaid, Bush
administration officials said Thursday.
Doctors and hospitals said the policy change would make it more difficult
for such infants, who are United States citizens, to obtain health care
needed in the first year of life.
Illegal immigrants are generally barred from Medicaid but can get coverage
for treatment of emergency medical conditions, including labor and delivery.
In the past, once a woman received emergency care under Medicaid for the
birth of a baby, the child was deemed eligible for coverage as well, and
states had to cover the children for one year from the date of birth.
Under the new policy, an application must be filed for the child, and the
parents must provide documents to prove the child’s citizenship.
The documentation requirements took effect in July, but some states have
been slow to enforce them, and many doctors are only now becoming aware of
the effects on newborns.
Obtaining a birth certificate can take weeks in some states, doctors said.
Moreover, they said, illegal immigrant parents may be reluctant to go to a
state welfare office to file applications because they fear contact with
government agencies that could report their presence to immigration
authorities.
Administration officials said the change was necessary under their reading
of a new law, the Deficit Reduction Act, signed by President Bush in
February. The law did not mention newborns, but generally tightened
documentation requirements because some lawmakers were concerned that
immigrants were fraudulently claiming United States citizenship to get
Medicaid.
Marilyn E. Wilson, a spokeswoman for the Tennessee Medicaid program, said:
“The federal government told us we have no latitude. All states must change
their policies and practices. We will not be able to cover any services for
the newborn until a Medicaid application is filed. That could be days, weeks
or months after the child is born.”
About four million babies are born in the United States each year, and
Medicaid pays for more than one-third of all births. The number involving
illegal immigrant parents is unknown but is likely to be in the tens of
thousands, health experts said.
Doctors and hospitals denounced the policy change and denied that it was
required by the new law. Dr. Jay E. Berkelhamer, president of the American
Academy of Pediatrics, said the policy “punishes babies who, according to
the Constitution, are citizens because they were born here.”
Dr. Martin C. Michaels, a pediatrician in Dalton, Ga., said that continuous
coverage in the first year of life was important because “newborns need care
right from the start.”
“Some Americans may want to grant amnesty to undocumented immigrants, and
others may want to send them home,” Dr. Michaels said. “But the children who
are born here had no say in that debate.”
Under a 1984 law, infants born to pregnant women on Medicaid are in most
cases deemed eligible for Medicaid for one year.
In an interview on Thursday, Leslie V. Norwalk, acting administrator of the
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said the new policy “reflects
what the new law says in terms of eligibility.”
“When emergency Medicaid pays for a birth,” Ms. Norwalk said, “the child is
not automatically deemed eligible. But the child could apply and could
qualify for Medicaid because of the family’s poverty status. If anyone knows
about a child being denied care, we want to know about it. Please step up
and tell us.”
Under federal law, hospitals generally have to examine and treat patients
who need emergency care, regardless of their ability to pay. So the new
policy is most likely to affect access to other types of care, including
preventive services and treatment for infections and chronic conditions,
doctors said.
Representative Charlie Norwood, Republican of Georgia, was a principal
architect of the new law.
“Charlie’s intent was that every person receiving Medicaid needs to provide
documentation,” said John E. Stone, a spokesman for Mr. Norwood, who is a
dentist and has been active on health care issues. “With newborns, there
should be no problem. All you have to do is provide a birth certificate or
hospital records verifying birth.”
But Dr. Berkelhamer disagreed. Even when the children are eligible for
Medicaid, he said, illegal immigrants may be afraid to apply because of “the
threat of deportation.”
The new policy “will cost the health care system more in the long run,” Dr.
Berkelhamer added, because children of illegal immigrants may go without
immunizations, preventive care and treatments needed in the first year of
life.
Doctors, children’s hospitals and advocacy groups have been urging states to
preserve the old policy on Medicaid eligibility for children born to illegal
immigrants.
Sara Rosenbaum, a professor of health law at George Washington University,
said: “The new policy reflects a tortured reading of the new law and is
contrary to the language of the 1984 statute, which Congress did not change.
The whole purpose of the earlier law, passed with bipartisan support, was to
make sure that a baby would not have a single day’s break in coverage from
the date of birth through the first year of life.”
California has objected to the new policy. S. Kimberly Belshé, secretary of
the California Health and Human Services Agency, said: “By virtue of being
born in the United States, a child is a U.S. citizen. What more proof does
the federal government need?”
CH
Me too Alias! Hastert the Bastard has been dethrowned as Majority