Millions Of Children Could Be Uninsured If Proposed Immigration Rules Become A Reality
The proposal would not change whether children are eligible for aid, but rather it would change the potential immigration-related consequences for their parents. A study finds that the move could result in between 875,000 and 2 million children across the country becoming uninsured.
The San Diego Union-Tribune:
Proposed Public Charge Changes Could Reduce Healthcare Coverage For Children: Study
A potential change to immigration rules regarding public benefits could lead to between 875,000 and 2 million U.S. citizen children becoming uninsured, a new study found. In California, about 1.6 million U.S. citizen children with at least one noncitizen parent use Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonprofit that focuses on non-partisan analyses of health policy. That’s about 28 percent of the 5.8 million such children who use these programs nationwide. Samantha Artiga, one of the study’s authors, said higher numbers of uninsured children can mean greater strains on safety net providers and can negatively impact the economy. (Morrissey, 6/4)