Medicaid

The latest New England Journal of Medicine contains two advocacy articles that essentially argue that the country should provide health care for illegal immigrants, no questions asked. The first, discusses the 1.1 million elderly people with no legal right to be here, who as a result, do not qualify for Medicare or federal Medicaid funding, which the authors call “dual ineligibility.” The article argues that these illegal residents should be covered by Medicare if they paid taxes, but realizing that is a political nonstarter, urge a combination of strategies. These range from states authorizing payments under Medicaid, to funding community health centers, to illegal elders being covered by their legal adult children’s health insurance. But what the authors really want Read More ›