Bush Administration Delays Approval Of California Medicaid Agreement Due To Residency Checks For Family Planning Program Recipients
April 11, 2007 – 4:21 pm | posted in MedicareThe federal government is delaying final approval of a Medicaid agreement with California while officials debate whether the state will begin requiring low-income women to prove they are legal residents or citizens before they can receive family planning services, the Sacramento Bee reports (Benson, Sacramento Bee, 4/4). California in 1997 with state funds established the Family Planning, Access, Care and Treatment Program, which provides family planning services and supplies for residents with incomes up to 200% of the poverty level. The federal Health Care Financing Administration in December 1999 granted the state a waiver allowing the program to become part of Medicaid and receive federal reimbursement for 90% of the program’s costs (Kaiser Daily Women’s Health Policy Report, 11/22/2000). The Bush administration has been extending the funding agreement for the program on a monthly basis while the debate continues, and the current agreement expires on April 30. Medi-Cal, the state’s Medicaid program, is planning to institute background checks for low-income residents who receive coverage, but the state does not require Family PACT recipients to enroll in Medi-Cal. State family planning officials said it would cost the federal government nearly double the $261 annual price of birth control per recipient to conduct each background check. According to the Bee, the federal government does not pay for birth control for undocumented immigrants, and California has been covering the estimated 14% of total costs for these recipients. State officials say that requiring Family PACT recipients to prove residency or citizenship could result in more unintended pregnancies and that undocumented immigrants are eligible for federally funded prenatal care and deliveries. The annual cost of the Family PACT is about $450 million, and the state estimates a savings of $1.4 billion by reducing unintended pregnancies and cases of sexually transmitted infections. CMS officials declined to comment on citizenship checks, the Bee reports. Federal Government Halts Mammogram, STI Services Coverage
The federal government recently stopped covering costs for mammograms and some STI-related services covered under Family PACT. CMS spokesperson Jack Nelligan in an e-mail wrote that California should not have billed the agency for such services. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) has proposed continuing coverage of the services using about $2.5 million in state funds. According to the Bee, Schwarzenegger’s proposal is likely to receive support in the Democratic-controlled state Legislature (Sacramento Bee, 4/4).
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