Emergency Care Is Limited by U.S. Rule ... Bush administration ... increasingly denying state claims for federal payment for some emergency services

Immigrants’ Emergency Care Is Limited by U.S. Rule | By SARAH KERSHAW | Published: September 22, 2007

The federal government has told New York State health officials that chemotherapy, which had been covered for illegal immigrants under a government-financed program for emergency medical care, does not qualify for coverage. The decision sets the stage for a battle between the state and federal governments over how medical emergencies are defined. ...
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Under a limited provision of Medicaid, the national health program for the poor, the federal government permits emergency coverage for illegal immigrants and other noncitizens. But the Bush administration has been more closely scrutinizing and increasingly denying state claims for federal payment for some emergency services, Medicaid experts said. ...
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... Others, including New York, have defined an emergency as any condition that could become an emergency or lead to death without treatment. ...