Washington (March 19, 2021) –
Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) joined Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.)
and Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Representatives Tony Cárdenas (CA-29) and Linda
Sánchez (CA-38) and a bicameral group of their colleagues to urge the Biden
administration to ensure undocumented immigrants across the country can receive
COVID-19 testing, treatment and vaccinations at no cost through emergency
Medicaid. In a letter to Secretary of the Department of Health and Human
Services (HHS) Xavier Becerra and Acting Administrator of the Centers for
Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Liz Richter, the lawmakers requested CMS
issue necessary guidance clarifying that emergency Medicaid -- which helps
ensure undocumented individuals without health coverage can receive access to
critical care -- can provide coverage of COVID-19-related care.
Despite nearly half of
undocumented immigrants lacking health insurance, immigrants have served on the
COVID-19 frontlines, with over two-thirds of undocumented workers serving in
essential jobs. While the American Rescue Plan Act, which President
Joe Biden signed into law last week, secured COVID-19 related coverage for
uninsured Americans under Medicaid, the lawmakers stressed the need to clarify
the application of the mandate to emergency Medicaid.
“In light of President
Biden’s focus on equity in response to the pandemic, we hope that you will move
swiftly to ensure that all individuals can receive COVID-19 care, without
worrying how they will pay for it,” the
members wrote.
“Providing clarity about
access to care for patients and reimbursement for providers is more important
than ever during the COVID-19 pandemic,” continued
the lawmakers. “[E]mergency Medicaid ensures that these individuals are
not burdened with insurmountable bills and that the providers who treat them
are not faced with uncompensated care costs.”
“We appreciate the
administration’s efforts to center equity in your COVID-19 response and urge
you to directly include immigrants in that response effort by issuing this
clarification,” they
concluded.
In addition to Markey,
Feinstein and Bennet, the letter was signed by Senators Cory Booker (D-N.J.),
Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Robert Menendez
(D-N.J.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Elizabeth Warren
(D-Mass.) and Alex Padilla (D-Calif.).
In addition to Cárdenas and
Sánchez, the letter was signed by Representatives Nanette Barragán (D-Calif.),
Sanford Bishop (D-Ga.), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.), Julia Brownley (D-Calif.),
Judy Chu (D-Calif.), David Cicilline (D-R.I.), Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.), Steve
Cohen (D-Tenn.), Danny Davis (D-Ill.), Adriano Espaillat (D-N.Y.), Bill Foster
(D-Ill.), Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.), Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas), Mondaire Jones
(D-N.Y.), John Larson (D-Conn.), Al Lawson (D-Fla.), Barbara Lee (D-Calif.),
Doris Matsui (D-Calif.), Betty McCollum (D-Minn.), Jim McGovern (D-Mass.), Gwen
Moore (D-Wis.), Grace Napolitano (D-Calif.), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.),
Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), Jimmy Panetta (D-Calif.), Mark Pocan (D-Wis.), Ayanna
Pressley (D-Mass.), Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-Calif.), Bobby Rush (D-Ill.), Jan
Schakowsky (D-Ill.), Terri Sewell (D-Ala.), Adam Smith (D-Calif.), Marilyn
Strickland (D-Wash.), Paul Tonko (D-N.Y.), David Trone (D-Md.), Debbie
Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) and Nikema Williams (D-Ga.).
The text of the letter is
available
here and
below:
Dear Secretary Becerra and
Acting Administrator Richter:
We write to request that the
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issue guidance to states
clarifying that emergency Medicaid will provide coverage for emergency medical
conditions, including for Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) testing,
treatment, and vaccinations. This guidance should clarify that the American
Rescue Plan Act of 2021, signed into law on March 11, 2021, includes a
vaccination coverage mandate that includes emergency Medicaid. In light of
President Biden’s focus on equity in response to the pandemic, we hope that you
will move swiftly to ensure that all individuals can receive COVID-19 care,
without worrying how they will pay for it.
Emergency Medicaid helps
ensure that patients can receive critical care when needed by providing
reimbursement for patients who are ineligible for full-scope Medicaid because
of their immigration status. Providing clarity about access to care for
patients and reimbursement for providers is more important than ever during the
COVID-19 pandemic.
There are nearly 11 million
individuals in the United States who are undocumented and hundreds of thousands
of others who are lawfully present but ineligible for Medicaid because of their
immigration status. Nearly a quarter of lawfully present immigrants and almost
half of undocumented immigrants are uninsured. Throughout the pandemic,
immigrants have served on the frontlines, with more than two-thirds of
undocumented immigrant workers holding jobs deemed essential to the recovery
and fight against COVID-19. Workers have been more likely to contract COVID-19
because they provide these essential services. In addition to their workforce
contributions, undocumented workers strengthen our economy through the taxes
they pay and their spending, including over $120 billion in federal, state, and
local tax contributions. The availability of emergency Medicaid ensures that
these individuals are not burdened with insurmountable bills and that the
providers who treat them are not faced with uncompensated care
costs.
At least 12 states have
already determined that their emergency Medicaid programs will cover COVID-19
testing and treatment. All jurisdictions would benefit from a clear
understanding that COVID-19-related care qualifies for federal matching funds.
Therefore, we request that
CMS expeditiously issue written guidance that COVID-19 is an “emergency medical
condition” under 42 USC §440.255 and 42 USC § 1396b(v)(3). It should clarify
that states can allow providers to bill emergency Medicaid for COVID-19
testing, treatment, vaccines, and vaccine administration and that states can
receive FMAP for those claims including for longer term effects of the virus.
We also request that CMS clarify that the coverage expansion of vaccines and
vaccine administration for individuals with limited benefit plans includes
coverage under emergency Medicaid under Section 9811(a)(2)(F) of the American
Rescue Plan Act of 2021.
The COVID-19 public health
emergency and the recession have disproportionately harmed immigrant
communities, warranting targeted support. We appreciate the administration’s
efforts to center equity in your COVID-19 response and urge you to directly
include immigrants in that response effort by issuing this clarification.
We look forward to your
response confirming these actions.
Sincerely,
###
