Title: How Undocumented Immigrants Sometimes Receive Medicaid Treatment | PBS NewsHour
Headings: How Undocumented Immigrants Sometimes Receive Medicaid Treatment
How Undocumented Immigrants Sometimes Receive Medicaid Treatment
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Content: Arizona spent $115 million. It couldn’t break out the number of people. Illinois spent $25 million on the cost of care to nearly 2,000 people. The federal government doesn’t require states to report how many people receive services through Emergency Medicaid payments to hospitals. Legal immigrants who’ve been in the United States less than five years aren’t eligible for regular Medicaid coverage, though states have the option of extending it to children and pregnant women. Despite the surge in overall Medicaid spending in the past decade, Emergency Medicaid costs have been remarkably stable. A 2004 study by the Government Accountability Office that looked at data from the 10 states with the highest expected Emergency Medicaid costs, reported $2 billion in spending. State officials say spending varies depending on immigration patterns and that during the economic slowdown, the number of illegal immigrants dropped. The definition of emergency care and the scope of services available through the Medicaid programs vary by state. For example, in New York, Emergency Medicaid may be used to provide chemotherapy and radiation therapy to illegal immigrants.