NYers buy Medicaid for illegal migrants in Gov. Hochul, Dems’ $220B budgetBy Carl Campanile and Bernadette Hogan
April 11, 2022
Illegal immigrants aged 65 and over will be able to obtain taxpayer-financed health care in the record-breaking $220 billion state budget signed by Gov. Kathy Hochul and passed by the legislature — a move critics say will incentivize the undocumented to flood New York for the benefits.
A provision in the budget allows up to 20,000 elderly residents living here illegally to apply for Medicaid, the public health insurance program for the needy that served more than 7 million residents during the height of the coronavirus pandemic.
An individual would just need to have income of less than $18,754 to qualify.
Medicaid is largely funded by the federal government with contributions from the state and local governments. But US law bars using federal dollars for illegal immigrants, so New York will have to foot the entire $220 million cost to cover senior undocumented immigrants.
“It’s a slippery slope. New York disincentivizes people from ever becoming citizens. New York blurs the distinction. We should not be rewarding people who are not following the rules,” said state Sen. George Borello (R-Jamestown).
The language in the budget does not specify what eligibility requirements will be put in place for undocumented residents to qualify for Medicaid benefits, such as living in New York or the US for a certain period of time. The Hochul administration had no immediate comment on the rules.
But the current state Health Department rule for Medicaid recipients has a lax residency standard. An applicant just has to prove he lives in New York State “regardless of the length of their residence.”
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Source:
https://nypost.com/2022/04/11/nyers-buy-medicaid-for-illegal-migrants-in-hochul-dems-budget/
