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: 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. In New York, California and North Carolina, it may be used to provide outpatient dialysis to undocumented patients. Other states have tried to narrow the definition of “emergency” to limit what’s covered. “ Each state has its own interpretation,” said Jane Perkins, the legal director of the National Health Law Program, which advocates for the working poor. Last year, for instance, Florida changed its policy to pay for emergency services for eligible undocumented immigrants only until their conditions had been “stabilized.” Previously, its policy was to pay for care that was “medically necessary to relieve or eliminate the emergency medical condition.”