New Study On New York's Experience With Citizenship Documentation For Medicaid Offers Insights As New Federal Law Approaches
NEW YORK, June 27, 2006 - Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP, the national law and consulting firm, announced today that Manatt Health Solutions, its healthcare policy and strategic business advisory group, has prepared a report titled "Citizen Documentation Requirements in the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005: Lessons From New York." Prepared for The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation's Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured, the report examines the Deficit Reduction Act (DRA) of 2005, which amends the federal Medicaid statute to require all citizens applying for or renewing Medicaid coverage to prove their citizenship using "satisfactory documentary evidence."
This new citizenship documentation requirement goes into effect on July 1, 2006, and will impact an estimated 50 million U.S. citizens receiving Medicaid benefits, as well as many more seeking to apply. State officials and others have raised concerns that implementation of this new requirement will prove costly and burdensome to states and impede Medicaid coverage for eligible citizens. New York State is one of four states (the others are Georgia, Montana and New Hampshire) in the nation that already requires documentation of citizenship for Medicaid applicants. Drawing on legal research, interviews with Medicaid officials, and a roundtable discussion with front-line enrollers who provide Medicaid application assistance, this report provides an in-depth assessment of the New York State Medicaid program's experience with citizenship documentation and potential conflicts between New York's process and DRA citizenship documentation requirements as articulated by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to date. The report outlines the "lessons learned" from New York's model and makes recommendations to clarify federal regulations implementing the new requirement to support successful implementation at the state level and ensure access to coverage for eligible citizens.
"New York's 30 years of experience in documenting citizenship for Medicaid demonstrates that it is possible to balance program integrity with access to health insurance coverage for eligible citizens," said Patricia Boozang, Senior Manager with Manatt Health Solutions. "New York has achieved these dual goals through flexible and responsive policy development and significant investment in application assistance for consumers, including its facilitated enrollment program."
To view the report, please visit http://www.kff.org/medicaid/7534.cfm .
About Manatt Health Solutions
Manatt Health Solutions is a division of Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP, which provides legal and consulting services to national and international clients from offices in Los Angeles, Orange County, Palo Alto and Sacramento, C.A.; New York and Albany, N.Y.; and Washington, D.C. Manatt Health Solutions' interdisciplinary team provides strategic and business advice, policy analysis, project implementation, and coalition building and advocacy services to clients in the areas healthcare access and coverage, healthcare financing and reimbursement and health information technology.
About The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation's Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured
The Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured provides information and analysis on healthcare coverage and access for the low-income population, with a special focus on Medicaid's role and coverage of the uninsured. Begun in 1991 and based in the Kaiser Family Foundation's Washington, DC office, the Commission is the largest operating program of the Foundation. The Commission's work is conducted by Foundation staff under the guidance of a bipartisan group of national leaders and experts in healthcare and public policy. |
