8.3m children of immigrant families risk losing health insurance under new rule
Source: The Guardian
8.3m children of immigrant families risk losing health insurance under new rule
Study finds ‘public charge rule’ could prompt parents to remove their children from coverage for fear of affecting their visa status
Miranda Bryant in New York
Mon 1 Jul 2019 16.00 BST Last modified on Mon 1 Jul 2019 16.37 BST
More than 8 million children could lose their health insurance under a controversial US government proposal that would penalize immigrants for using benefits if they apply for green cards or visas, according to new research.
The “public charge rule”, proposed by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in September, would require immigration officers to assess whether an applicant had received benefit from programs like Medicaid, food aid and public housing.
The changes are expected to prompt a wave of immigrant parents to remove their children from healthcare provisions for fear of affecting their visa status.
The damning study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), on the implications of the rule found it could prove catastrophic to children who currently rely on the benefits for healthcare and claimed it “violates human rights”.
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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/jul/01/us-immigrant-children-health-insurance-public-charge-rule