Fourth in the Series, "CHIP-ing Away at the Myths," Focuses on Myths about Undocumented Immigrants

Series Counters False Statements against the Children’s Health Care Legislation

Washington, D.C. – Families USA, the national organization for health care consumers, today released the fourth in a series of documents that aim to dispel the myths about the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) legislation that have been propagated by the Bush Administration.

The fourth and last myth in the series, “CHIP-ing Away at the Myths,” deals with the myth that this legislation extends coverage to undocumented immigrants:

• This bill does not cover undocumented immigrants. Indeed, it perpetuates the denial of coverage to legal immigrants who haven’t been in the country for five years.

• It explicitly prohibits the use of any federal funding to cover undocumented immigrants. Section 605 of the bill states: “NO FEDERAL FUNDING FOR ILLEGAL ALIENS. Nothing in this Act allows Federal payment for individuals who are not legal residents.”

• The bill retains the requirement that citizenship be verified for all individuals applying for Medicaid, and it extends this requirement to CHIP. It allows states to use Social Security databases to verify this information.

“Not only does this bill not cover undocumented immigrants, it continues to penalize legal immigrants by not allowing them access to the program unless they have been in the country for at least five years,” said Ron Pollack, Executive Director of Families USA. “This is another example of the many false statements the President has made about the CHIP program.”

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Families USA is the national organization for health care consumers. It is nonprofit and nonpartisan and advocates for high-quality, affordable health care for all Americans.

1201 New York Avenue NW, Suite 1100 · Washington, DC 20005
202-628-3030 · Email: info@familiesusa.org · www.familiesusa.org