Alabama Ready to Require Medicaid Recipients Prove Citizenship

Alabama Gov. Bob Riley says the state is ready to enforce provisions of a new federal law intended to keep illegal aliens from improperly receiving government-funded medical care. The new rule will for the first time require all Medicaid recipients to provide identification and proof of U.S. citizenship to receive benefits. President Bush signed the measure into law in February, and it is scheduled to go into effect July 1.

"If you're here illegally, we're going to do everything possible to make sure you no longer exploit the system," Riley said in a release. "It's a crime for anyone, citizen or non-citizen, to defraud Medicaid, and the law will be strictly enforced. Every Medicaid dollar fraudulently taken by illegal aliens is a dollar in benefits stolen from low-income seniors and children who are entitled to receive them."

Emergency medical care cannot be denied to anyone based on citizenship, continued the release, if they would otherwise be eligible for Medicaid. States now can accept a signed declaration as proof of U.S. citizenship, but that will change on July 1 because applicants who fail to show proof that they are citizens will be denied benefits. Medicaid eligibility will not be awarded until required documentation is provided.

According to the Congressional Budget Office, the new requirement could save $735 million over the next 10 years.

The new requirement will apply to all Medicaid applications processed after July 1. Current Medicaid recipients will have to provide proof of citizenship and identity at the time of their annual review in order to remain eligible for the program. Non-citizen aliens who are legally in the U.S. already have to provide documentation that they are here lawfully in order to receive regular Medicaid benefits.

"Alabama Medicaid is a $4 billion program serving 900,000 individuals, and there is a constant challenge of making sure all funding goes where it is intended," said Alabama Medicaid Director Carol Herrmann-Steckel. "We're working with health-care providers and beneficiaries to educate them on the documents that are required to show proof of citizenship and identity."

Herrmann-Steckel said Medicaid will offer help to those citizens, such as senior citizens born at home without birth certificates, and patients with mental illnesses, who may have difficulty providing the required documentation.

Medicaid is a state/federal program that pays for medical and long-term care services for low-income pregnant women, children, disabled individuals and nursing-home residents.

A complete listing of required documents will be maintained on the state's Medicaid Web site.