Government
AMA to push government to change Medicaid citizenship rule for newborns
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted Dec. 4, 2006
The AMA will strongly urge the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to amend a federal rule to specify that a state Medicaid agency's record of payment for a baby's birth in a U.S. hospital is satisfactory documentation of identity and citizenship.
A Medicaid rule adopted earlier this year requires proof of citizenship via original birth certificate, passport or other official identification. The risk of non-payment to physicians for services to newborns is great, doctors said, because birth certificates may not be available for months.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2006/12/04/gvbf1204.htm.