Stricter rules for babies of undocumented immigrants

What are they thinking?! Department

A new federal policy means that children born in the US to undocumented immigrants will no longer automatically qualify for health insurance, reports the New York Times. Before, women got emergency care under Medicaid and their babies were covered for their first year.

Now, families will have to apply to Medicaid and prove that their baby is a citizen (even proponents of the new policy say this part is obvious) before the child can get health coverage -- despite all the obstacles this poses for families, such as language barriers, fear of deportation, and finding time to deal with all this with a new baby!

Marilyn E. Wilson, a spokeswoman for the Tennessee Medicaid program, said she’s been told all states will have to change their policies accordingly.

Read more:
U.S. Tightens Medicaid Rules for Babies of Illegal Immigrants http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/02/washington/02cnd-medicaid.html?
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From the CA Immigrant Welfare Collaborative:
Access to Medicaid for Newborns of Immigrant Mothers
http://www.caimmigrant.org/source/Newborns&Medicaid.pdf