Going to the Doctor?

Don't forget your birth certificate.

The Center for Medicaid and Medicare Services has asked the public to comment on a controversial policy that mandates that all people seeking health care under medicaid provide a birth certificate, passport, or other proof of their citizenship.  Take a moment to let them know that all women — regardless of income — should have easy access to health care.  This rule strikes at the heart of Planned Parenthood services and what we fight for — preventative health care and crucial family planning for needy women and families. 

This policy will affect the underprivileged, those who do not have access to government documents, or money to get a reprint a birth certificate or mail a passport application.  Our government shouldn't put up more barriers to health care services.  Our government should be finding ways to help the underprivileged preserve their health and prevent illness.  This policy adds an extra burden to administering health services to people in need.  If the government would like to reduce the deficit they should create policies that help the underprivileged maintain their health.  With this policy people with out identification will end up in the emergency room, where services cost more than preventative health visits, like ob/gyn visits, breast cancer screenings, and family planning services.   Please sign the letter below to the Dr. Mark McClellan, Administrator of the Center for Medicaid and Medicare Services in Utah asking him to intervene.

Sample Letter for Campaign

Dear [ Decision Maker ] ,

Utah should not be forced to implement a citizenship documentation process that is both burdensome and counterproductive. We recognize that the regulations are a significant improvement over the June 9th CMS guidance in that they explicitly allow states to use vital health databases to document citizenship and other state and federal databases to document identity (see 71 Fed. Reg. 39216 and 42 CFR 435.407(e)(10)).

At the same time, however, Utah is still bound by a proscriptive process that does not adequately allow it to respond to the unique needs of their population. In general, the hierarchy of document reliability that CMS chose creates a much larger burden than is necessary to implement section 6036. Specifically, there are several areas where CMS should amend the interim final rule.

I strongly urge CMS not to limit the accepted documentation to the primary and secondary level of documents. If the true goal of the provision is simply to require the proof of citizenship and identity of Medicaid-eligible U.S. citizens, then it is only natural that CMS would accept a variety of documents to reflect the varied circumstances of Medicaid-eligible citizens' lives.

Thank you for your attention.

Sincerely,

Campaign Launched:
August 08, 2006