Modern Healthcare

By: Virgil Dickson

The immigration clampdown [by the federal government] could cause American children of undocumented parents to exit Medicaid, policy insiders say.

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Medicaid directors as well as managed care plans disclosed via reports last week that they were noticing the first drop in Medicaid enrollment in a decade. Researchers tied that trend largely to improving job opportunities, but some researchers like Joan Alker at The Center for Children and Families at Georgetown University, thinks that the drop may be due in part to the Trump administration’s increased focus on immigration. Her center is going through enrollment data now, and hopes to release a report in November on what role anti-immigration rhetoric is having on declining enrollment. “These parents may be afraid to sign their kids up for Medicaid or CHIP or renew their coverage for which they are eligible,” Alker said. “This is one of a number of factors that we think is contributing to the number of uninsured kids going up for the first time in a long time.”

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