More Limits on Healthcare for the Poor

There are a lot of people in the world that I would like to shake until they stop being stupid. Some would require more shaking than others. One such person is Representative Nathan Deal (R - GA) - quoted in a NYT article today. Mr. Deal was one of the writers of legislation that required proof of citizenship for people to receive Medicaid treatment, resulting in thousands of people, mostly children, unable to receive benefits because they do not have an original passport or birth certificate. When questioned, Mr. Deal is quoted as saying that the requirement “has saved taxpayers money.” Well, no duh. Even less taxpayers money would be spent if we just cut off those freeloading children altogether. [The article indicates that he would recommend expanding the requirement to the Children's Health Insurance Program.] But, ultimately that is not really the point of the program. The point is to efficiently get care to those who need it.

It seems to me that this misguided new rule, supposedly intended to keep illegal immigrants from stealing our medical care, is just another way to cut back services to the poor without openly stating the intention. There were already rules in place that precluded illegal immigrants from getting Medicaid - it was left to the states to decide how and when to enforce and ask for proof. The new policy does not take into account that most poor people aren't heading to Europe for their vacations and thus do not have their passport handy at all times. Nor do they generally have the $10 to $30 laying around to get a new copy of a birth certificate. Instead, they will skip care because they do not have the necessary documents or the means to obtain them.

I encourage you to read the whole article to see the statistics from several states of the impact of this rule. It is appalling.