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Federal ruling changes immigrant reimbursement

Case Management Weekly, October 2, 2007

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The federal government has told New York state officials that emergency chemotherapy for illegal immigrants is no longer eligible for reimbursement. The ruling, revealed in The New York Times, prompted a wave of protest from health officials, who claimed that hospitals would be landed with the financial burden.

Under Medicaid, illegal immigrants can access emergency treatment. Although such immigrants cannot benefit from continuing care, only organ transplants have, until now, been specifically excluded from reimbursement, leaving states free to decide what constituted emergency care. New York state health officials have contended the latest ruling, asking that doctors retain the right to determine the boundaries of emergency treatment.

The federal government, which reached its decision following a three and a half-year audit of New York hospitals, said in a statement that "longstanding interpretations by the agency have been that emergency Medicaid benefits are to cover emergencies."

Source: The New York Times

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