WASHINGTON -- U.S. Rep. Benjamin L. Cardin, D-MD, today announced that the Bush Administration has decided to drop a requirement that could have cost Maryland hospitals $1 million a year in Medicare reimbursements. The Administration announced last week that it has abandoned its proposal requiring hospitals to confirm patients’ citizenship status in order to receive Medicare funds for treating undocumented immigrants.

Last month, Rep. Cardin, joined by Maryland’s two U.S. senators, wrote to Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Tommy Thompson urging him not to implement its proposed rule, which would force emergency room staff to ask patients their immigration status. Rep. Cardin cited the "serious public health consequences" of the HHS proposal, as well as the increased staff time and resources needed to document immigration status, and the potential detrimental effects of this policy on patient care.

Hospitals in border states and many urban areas provide millions of dollars of care each year to undocumented immigrants. Because their immigration status renders them ineligible for Medicaid, and because most are uninsured and unable to pay, this care is usually uncompensated. Section 1011 of the new Medicare law sets aside $1 billion over the next four years to reimburse hospitals for this care. In May, Congress overwhelmingly rejected legislation that would have required hospitals to check immigration status. In July, however, HHS ignored congressional intent and issued a rule requiring hospitals to check status. On Oct. 1, CMS Administrator Mark McClellan reversed course, notifying hospitals that "providers will not be asked – and should not ask – about a patient’s citizenship status in order to receive payment under this program."

"Section 1011 is a good provision that somehow took a wrong turn. Our hospitals need additional funding for uncompensated care, but they are already stretched to the limit when it comes to emergency room staff and resources. I’m glad that HHS recognized the folly of turning ER personnel into part-time INS agents," said the Congressman, a member of the Ways and Means Committee.

Rep. Cardin is the author of the Access to Emergency Medical Services Act, which would guarantee coverage for emergency treatment based on the patient’s symptoms rather than the final diagnosis. The Cardin bill’s provisions were enacted for Medicare and Medicaid patients in managed care as part of the 1997 Balanced Budget Act.

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