SoonerCare cuts hit legal citizens

By Keith Purtell
Phoenix Staff Writer

December 24, 2007 08:16 pm

— A law designed to remove illegal aliens from public assistance has instead denied thousands of U.S. citizens their Oklahoma SoonerCare benefits.
SoonerCare is a state program through which Medicaid services are managed. The federal Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 changed how states verify the citizenship of recipients. U.S. citizenship has always been necessary, but the new law requires documentation such as a birth certificate.
Oklahoma Health Care Authority spokesperson Nico Gomez said most of the 5,841 people whose SoonerCare benefits were terminated Dec. 1 are probably U.S. citizens.
“The reason we can make that assumption is because that has been the pattern in other states,” he said. “Some of the letters we sent have been returned as undeliverable. If people need help because they were born out of state, they need to go ahead and contact their local Department of Human Services for guidance.”
As of Nov. 19, 173 people in Muskogee County lost their SoonerCare benefits because of the new federal law requiring proof of citizenship.
Gomez said a meeting between his agency and the state Department of Human Services will assess how many SoonerCare members have recently responded to the new requirement.
“People can also provide a U.S. passport or certificate of naturalization,” he said. “If they have lost their birth certificate, they can get it re-issued by the state health department. One of the fastest ways to do that may be to call the Vital Records Service at (405) 271-4040.”
Jo Kilgore, spokesperson for the OHCA, said that by Dec. 1, the number of SoonerCare members dropped in other area counties was: Adair, 57; Cherokee, 70; Haskell, 26; McIntosh, 20; Sequoyah, 179; and Wagoner, 56.
Sixty-two percent of SoonerCare participants are children and 38 percent are adults. By race as indicated on their application, 58 percent are Caucasian; 18 percent are African-American; 13 percent are American Indian; 10 percent are Hispanic and one percent are Asian.
A Dec. 13 report by the OHCA said federal studies show the new law has not saved taxpayers any money:
• A Government Accountability Office report found that the documentation requirements have led to widespread declines in Medicaid enrollment and increased administrative costs.
• The majority staff of the Oversight Committee analysis found that the documentation requirements have cost significantly more to implement than they have saved in expenditures by excluding undocumented immigrants from Medicaid coverage. For every $100 spent by federal taxpayers to implement the new requirements in six states, only 14 cents in Medicaid savings can be documented.
Kilgore said the OHCA has sent multiple letters to thousands of people in an effort to let them know their services would be terminated without proof of citizenship. OHCA has worked in partnership on the problem with the state’s health and human service agencies. At least four notices have been sent.
In several cases, workers from the Oklahoma Department of Human Services conducted outreach efforts including home visits and phone calls to increase compliance with the change in regulations. OHCA and the OKDHS have also made arrangements to electronically match SoonerCare data with Oklahoma state birth certificate records.
If someone receives a letter and they have their citizenship verification documents, they need to contact their local OKDHS office as soon as possible. The Muskogee County Department of Human Services can be reached at 684-5300.
Other acceptable proof of citizenship is listed on the agency’s Web site at www.okhca.org.
Individuals receiving Medicare benefits and individuals who receive or previously received Supplemental Security Income do not have to provide proof of citizenship or identity. Proof of citizenship or identity does not have to be provided for newborns of SoonerCare until the child is 1 year old.

Replacing birth certificates

SoonerCare members who need to replace their lost or destroyed birth certificate have several options to get it re-issued:
• Call the Vital Records Service at (405) 271-4040.
• Send a letter to Vital Records Service, 1000 NE 10th St., Oklahoma City, OK, 73117.
• Contact the Tulsa Health Department, Central Regional Health Center, 594-4840.
• Go online to www.health.state.ok.us and click the link named Birth/Death Certificates.
Source: Oklahoma Health
Care Authority

Reach Keith Purtell at 918-684-2925 or Click Here to Send Email