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Statement of ACAP CEO Margaret A. Murray on Proposed Public Charge Rule
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 7, 2018
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Jeff Van Ness, (202) 204-7515; jvanness@communityplans.net
STATEMENT OF ACAP CEO MARGARET A. MURRAY
ON PROPOSED PUBLIC CHARGE RULE
WASHINGTON—ACAP Chief Executive Officer Margaret A. Murray today issued the following statement on a regulation proposed by the Department of Homeland Security which would allow the government to consider a wide range of public benefits an immigrant has already used or is likely to use when making decisions on his or her immigration status:
“We oppose the proposed public charge regulation.
“If implemented as proposed, it will drive up the numbers of the uninsured—among both citizens and non-citizens. It will prevent people who are, by law, eligible from Medicaid from coming forward for coverage out of fear that they would be denied legal residency status. Homeland Security itself anticipates that this will be a result of this regulation.
“We are also concerned that this will keep parents from seeking benefits for their children out of fear of a negative impact on their immigration status. Of the 19 million children who live in a family with an immigrant parent, 9 in 10 of these children are citizens. It would be deeply unfortunate if the net effect of this rule were to be to deprive them of health coverage.
“And the increase in the uninsured would leave safety net providers—community health centers, public hospitals, county health departments and others—to clean up the mess by providing uncompensated care when the uninsured get sick.
“We urge DHS to withdraw this proposed rule. At the very least, we ask DHS to remove Medicaid – and avoid adding CHIP – to the list of programs considered under the public charge rule.”
About ACAP
ACAP represents 64 not-for-profit Safety Net Health Plans in 29 states, which collectively serve more than 22 million people enrolled in Medicaid, Medicare, the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), and other public health programs. For more information, visit www.communityplans.net.
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