Bill Threatens Immigrant Health Care

Ventura County officials fear that a bill toughening the rules to qualify for Medi-Cal benefits could leave poor immigrants without health care coverage and could shift the cost of their care to county government.

The proposed restrictions, included in a far-reaching immigration package being debated in Congress, would require legal immigrants to include the income of their sponsors along with their own when signing up for Medi-Cal health care coverage.

As a result, according to a UCLA study released Monday, an estimated 830,000 immigrants living in California--most here legally--would earn too much to qualify for the state- and federally funded program that provides health care to the poor.

In Ventura County, officials estimate that the provision could push hundreds, if not thousands, of immigrants off the Medi-Cal rolls.

“I see it more as a cost shift to the county system,” said Pierre Durand, executive director of the county’s Health Care Agency. “Because the county is the safety net, anyone who needs care will come to our system. And if Medi-Cal doesn’t pay for those services, those costs will eventually come to us.”

But Rep. Elton Gallegly (R-Simi Valley), who wrote the amendment to the immigration bill, said the legislation is intended to ensure that those costs are not borne by any government agency.

As a condition of emigrating to the United States, foreign-born residents must be sponsored by individuals who pledge to be financially responsible for them. Under current law, however, that promise is not legally enforceable.

Gallegly said his amendment seeks to hold sponsors to their word.

“If you’re going to sign a document that says you are going to be financially responsible, then by golly you should be financially responsible,” Gallegly said.

“These people should still get health care, they are still going to have access to health care, but then we’ll bill those people who sign those statements of financial responsibility.”

Gallegly’s provision would require immigrants to include the income of their sponsors for up to 10 years after their arrival in the United States. And it would allow deportation of legal immigrants if they are found to be in violation of the new qualification rules.

Currently, 1.1 million immigrants under the age of 65 receive Medi-Cal, the study said.

In Ventura County, about 67,400 county residents received Medi-Cal benefits in May. And in the past, county officials have estimated that 20% of the Medi-Cal caseload is made up of immigrants, most of them legal residents.

But just how many of those Medi-Cal recipients would no longer qualify for the program if the legislation was signed into law remains a mystery.

Gary Feldman, the county’s public health officer, said he doesn’t believe many immigrants would be affected by the restrictions. And he supports the idea of holding sponsors financially responsible.

“If you asserted (financial responsibility) as a condition of helping someone come in, that is in a sense a solemn promise,” he said. “I don’t think it’s unreasonable to hold people to that promise.”

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Still, some officials fear that without Medi-Cal some immigrants would choose not to go to the doctor at all, increasing the health risk to all residents.

“If people stop going to public health clinics out of fear or whatever, that could stand to increase the spread of infectious disease,” said Supervisor John Flynn.

Advocates for the poor say the Medi-Cal restrictions are likely to hit Latinos hardest, especially women and children.

“It appears to be going after the families of hard-working immigrants,” said Eileen McCarthy, a legal aid attorney in Oxnard. “I think it’s unfortunate that employers don’t pay them a decent living wage and provide health benefits. That is the reason that the families of working immigrants have to rely on Medi-Cal in the first place.”