CLT UPDATE
Tuesday, November 2, 2011
$93M for illegals' health care —
"the tip of the iceberg"
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A dogged freshman lawmaker who refused to budge
from the House chambers earlier this month until the Patrick
administration came clean on how much taxpayers coughed up last year
for free health care to illegal aliens finally got his answer
yesterday: a whopping $93 million....The 58-year-old Andover
Republican — who bucked Beacon Hill by holding a sit-in in the House
chambers two weeks ago — pried the shocking report from state
officials. It showed that nearly 55,000 illegal immigrants received
more than $93 million in MassHealth benefits for emergency medical
services last year.
Watchdogs predicted that the report is likely to
inspire deeper questions about the state’s lavish spending on health
care for illegals....
“It would be interesting to know what it was in
2005 or ’06,” said David G. Tuerck of Suffolk University’s Beacon
Hill Institute. “It’s too bad it took forever to get this
information from these people.”
Lyons began pushing the Patrick administration
for a full accounting of all state spending on illegal immigrants
last May.
In her letter, Bigby apologized to Lyons for his
long wait. Her spokeswoman explained that it took time to get “a
thorough and accurate” accounting of the spending....
In her letter, Bigby apologized to Lyons for his
long wait. Her spokeswoman explained that it took time to get “a
thorough and accurate” accounting of the spending.
Lyons took a gracious stance. “I think this opens
the lines of communication with the administration, and this
administration recognizes that openness and transparency are
something we are very serous about. This is a good first step,” he
said.
“But we started this process in May, and here we
are in October, so hopefully it will be a little quicker than this
next time.”
The Boston Herald
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Pol gets action!
Gets Patrick to admit high cost of illegals' health care
About 1 percent of the $9.6 billion the state
spent on Medicaid claims last fiscal year covered services for
immigrants who couldn't prove their legal status, according to
figures released by the Patrick administration in response to a
Republican lawmaker who had threatened to hold up a key spending
bill earlier this month until he got the data he requested.
In a letter to the lawmaker, Rep. James Lyons of
Andover, Secretary of Health and Human Services JudyAnn Bigby
apologized for the delay in providing the information and offered a
breakdown of spending on the Medicaid program, also called
MassHealth.
Spending on 54,732 "immigrants who have not
provided documentation" as to their Medicaid eligibility accounted
for $93 million -- about half of which is supported by federal
matching funds -- 1 percent of the program's overall budget in
fiscal 2011.
"MassHealth complies with the federal law to
cover emergency services for undocumented immigrants through the
MassHealth Limited program," Bigby wrote.
In addition, 94 percent of Medicaid spending,
about $9 billion, went to 1,170,774 legal U.S. citizens, while 4
percent ($380 million) covered services for 69,301 "qualified
immigrants" and 1 percent ($95 million) covered services for 33,215
legal immigrants who don't yet meet the residency requirements to
qualify for federal matching funds....
Bigby's letter to Lyons was dated Oct. 27, more
than a month after Lyons submitted a request to her office, although
Lyons contends he's been making requests for data since the spring.
State House News Service
Monday, October 31, 2011
Report: State spent $93M on immigrants who can't prove legal status
Republican lawmakers seized on a new Patrick
administration report Tuesday that showed millions of dollars in
annual spending on health care for potentially illegal immigrants,
demanding support for a proposal that would require recipients of
state benefits to prove they are in the United States lawfully.
“This is a common sense approach to state
government,” Rep. Daniel Webster (R-Pembroke) said. “We know the
taxpayers are with us on this issue.” ...
Webster’s amendment was nullified by a
superseding proposal from House Ways and Means Committee Chairman
Brian Dempsey (D-Haverhill), who proposed to study the issue further
rather than take immediate action.
The study amendment, referred by critics as an
“inoculator” because it prevented a vote on the original proposal,
has been used repeatedly by House leaders to block Republican
amendments on sensitive issues, including a proposal to increase
local aid to cities and towns.
The study amendment passed 108-45, with 12
Democrats joining all 33 Republicans against the study.
State House News Service
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Report on illegal immigrant health care fuels debate over benefits
Beacon Hill Democrats beat back a move by
House Republicans yesterday that would have forced Bay State
officials to check the immigration status of anyone seeking
state health, housing, college education or most other publicly
funded benefits, after a freshman GOP lawmaker forced state
officials to reveal the state spent $93 million on health care
for illegal aliens last year.
“It is important to show Massachusetts
taxpayers that some legislators are interested in protecting
their hard-earned dollars from being misspent,” said state Rep.
Daniel Webster, (R-Pembroke). “This is only the tip of the
iceberg. If $93 million is spent annually on MassHealth benefits
for illegal aliens, one can only imagine how much money in all
other state sponsored benefits is being given away to those who
are in our country unlawfully.” ...
GOP House members tried to attach the
requirement as an amendment to a $92 million supplemental state
budget largely providing funds for state housing programs.
All 33 House Republicans voted in favor of
the measure along with 11 [sic - 12]
Democrats, Webster said. But a majority vote by Democrats
shuffled Webster’s amendment off to the House Post Audit
Committee, where it will likely die, he said.
The Boston Herald
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
GOP loses bid demanding immigration review for benefits
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Chip Ford's CLT
Commentary
Thanks to state Rep. James Lyons (R-Andover) we now
know that taxpayers are ponying up at least $93 million a year to fund
free health care services for 54,732 known illegal aliens, or as state
Health and Human Services Secretary JudyAnn Bigby prefers, "immigrants
who have not provided documentation."
"In addition . . . $380 million covered services for
69,301 'qualified immigrants' and $95 million covered services for
33,215 legal immigrants who don't yet meet the residency requirements to
qualify for federal matching funds."
That allegedly covers taxpayer-funded health care
costs for the state's immigrant population. What about the
plethora of other "social services" —
housing (e.g., President Obama's aunt Zeituni Onyango), EBT cards, etc.?
|
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|
“This is only the tip of the iceberg," said state
Rep. Daniel Webster, (R-Pembroke). "If $93 million is spent annually on
MassHealth benefits for illegal aliens, one can only imagine how much
money in all other state sponsored benefits is being given away to those
who are in our country unlawfully.”
Yes, "one can only imagine."
Just last Thursday Gov. Patrick signed a supplemental
budget that included $169 million in spending initiatives and added $350
million to the state's rainy day fund. Yesterday the House debated and
passed another supplemental budget, this for an additional $52 million.
During that debate, House Republicans offered an amendment "that would
require recipients of state benefits to prove they are in the United
States lawfully." This being Massachusetts of course, this common-sense
proposal was ignored — by a vote of
108-45
it was shuffled off to the "study committee" graveyard.
All 33 House Republicans voted for the amendment,
along with a dozen Democrats: Representatives James Arciero
(D-Westford), Bruce Ayers (D-Quincy), Thomas Calter (D-Kingston), James
Dwyer (D-Woburn), John Fresolo (D-Worcester), Colleen Garry (D-Dracut),
Thomas Golden (D-Lowell), James Miceli (D-Wilmington), Angelo Puppolo
(D-Springfield). Dennis Rosa (D-Leominster), Stephen Smith (D-Everett),
Thomas Stanley (D-Waltham).
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Chip Ford |
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The Boston Herald
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Pol gets action!
Gets Patrick to admit high cost of illegals' health care
By Gary J. Remal
A dogged freshman lawmaker who refused to budge from the House
chambers earlier this month until the Patrick administration came
clean on how much taxpayers coughed up last year for free health
care to illegal aliens finally got his answer yesterday: a whopping
$93 million.
“I didn’t think it would take as much work as it did to answer such
a simple question about how our tax dollars are spent,” state Rep.
James J. Lyons Jr. told the Herald yesterday.
“My whole goal was to get the information and open the process up. (MassHealth
spending) is a third of the state budget. That was what we
highlighted to (Health and Human Services) Secretary (JudyAnn) Bigby.”
The 58-year-old Andover Republican — who bucked Beacon Hill by
holding a sit-in in the House chambers two weeks ago — pried the
shocking report from state officials. It showed that nearly 55,000
illegal immigrants received more than $93 million in MassHealth
benefits for emergency medical services last year.
Watchdogs predicted that the report is likely to inspire deeper
questions about the state’s lavish spending on health care for
illegals. The staggering medical bill for poor and jobless residents
was supposed to level off under the Bay State’s landmark universal
health insurance plan enacted five years ago under the aegis of
then-Gov. Mitt Romney.
“It is sad that Rep. Lyons was forced to hold up business on Beacon
Hill to get basic information that should be part of the yearly
budget process,” said Joshua Archambault, director of health-care
policy at the conservative Pioneer Institute in Boston.
“This issue deserves further investigation. Simply put, the
administration has failed to set up robust program integrity
features, many of which were part of the health-care reform law
passed five years ago,” Archambault said.
However, another state budget watchdog said the report — which
showed the state doled out more than $9.5 billion to more than a
million low-income families — doesn’t reveal how much the bill for
illegals has increased since the system was overhauled in 2006.
“It would be interesting to know what it was in 2005 or ’06,” said
David G. Tuerck of Suffolk University’s Beacon Hill Institute. “It’s
too bad it took forever to get this information from these people.”
Lyons began pushing the Patrick administration for a full accounting
of all state spending on illegal immigrants last May.
In her letter, Bigby apologized to Lyons for his long wait. Her
spokeswoman explained that it took time to get “a thorough and
accurate” accounting of the spending.
Lyons took a gracious stance. “I think this opens the lines of
communication with the administration, and this administration
recognizes that openness and transparency are something we are very
serous about. This is a good first step,” he said.
“But we started this process in May, and here we are in October, so
hopefully it will be a little quicker than this next time.”
State House News Service
Monday, October 31, 2011
Report: State spent $93M on immigrants who can't prove legal status
By Kyle Cheney
About 1 percent of the $9.6 billion the state spent on Medicaid
claims last fiscal year covered services for immigrants who couldn't
prove their legal status, according to figures released by the
Patrick administration in response to a Republican lawmaker who had
threatened to hold up a key spending bill earlier this month until
he got the data he requested.
In a letter to the lawmaker, Rep. James Lyons of Andover, Secretary
of Health and Human Services JudyAnn Bigby apologized for the delay
in providing the information and offered a breakdown of spending on
the Medicaid program, also called MassHealth.
Spending on 54,732 "immigrants who have not provided documentation"
as to their Medicaid eligibility accounted for $93 million — about
half of which is supported by federal matching funds — 1 percent of
the program's overall budget in fiscal 2011.
"MassHealth complies with the federal law to cover emergency
services for undocumented immigrants through the MassHealth Limited
program," Bigby wrote.
In addition, 94 percent of Medicaid spending, about $9 billion, went
to 1,170,774 legal U.S. citizens, while 4 percent ($380 million)
covered services for 69,301 "qualified immigrants" and 1 percent
($95 million) covered services for 33,215 legal immigrants who don't
yet meet the residency requirements to qualify for federal matching
funds.
Administration officials emphasized that the spending on immigrants
who failed to provide adequate documentation does not mean that they
are all illegally residing in Massachusetts. In addition, those
residents are only eligible for three programs:
● MassHealth Limited, which
covers conditions that without treatment would result in "a) placing
the individual's health in serious jeopardy; b) serious impairment
to bodily functions; or c) serious dysfunction of any bodily organ
or part";
● Children and teens without
proper documentation are eligible for a "Children's Medical Security
Program";
● Low-income pregnant women would
be eligible for a "Healthy Start" program that provides "prenatal
and postpartum care"
Lyons said in a phone interview that the information he received was
a "step in the right direction."
"I haven't had a chance to fully analyze it and review it, which we
intend to do," he said. "Secretary Bigby did say in her letter that
she would be willing to meet with us, and I expect to take her up on
that."
Lyons, a freshman, said his efforts were an information gathering
exercise ahead of the fiscal 2013 budget cycle.
"My whole focus is to gather information, you know, going into the
next budget cycle ... make sure that the available information, we
understand where our tax dollars are going," he said.
Lyons drew the administration's attention earlier this month when he
temporarily blocked a $169 million spending bill that also sent $350
million to the state rainy day fund. Patrick signed the bill last
week but only after Democrats ripped Lyons for stalling the
disbursement of $65 million in local aid to cities and towns that
was effectuated by the enactment of the bill.
To block the bill, Lyons mounted a two-day stand in the House
chamber, threatening to draw the House proceedings to a close if
leaders tried to advance the budget bill. He was able to
single-handedly hold up the bill because the House was meeting in
"informal session," when one member can block any legislation and
roll call votes are prohibited.
Bigby's letter to Lyons was dated Oct. 27, more than a month after
Lyons submitted a request to her office, although Lyons contends
he's been making requests for data since the spring.
State House News Service
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Report on illegal immigrant health care fuels debate over benefits
By Kyle Cheney
Republican lawmakers seized on a new Patrick administration report
Tuesday that showed millions of dollars in annual spending on health
care for potentially illegal immigrants, demanding support for a
proposal that would require recipients of state benefits to prove
they are in the United States lawfully.
“This is a common sense approach to state government,” Rep. Daniel
Webster (R-Pembroke) said. “We know the taxpayers are with us on
this issue.”
Democrats argued that the spending on undocumented immigrants was
limited to three categories: those suffering from “catastrophic”
emergency, such as a shooting or a heart attack; school-age
children; and low-income, pregnant women. They said residency status
is not the chief concern when patients show up at emergency rooms in
desperate need of medical treatment.
Webster’s amendment was nullified by a superseding proposal from
House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Brian Dempsey (D-Haverhill),
who proposed to study the issue further rather than take immediate
action.
The study amendment, referred by critics as an “inoculator” because
it prevented a vote on the original proposal, has been used
repeatedly by House leaders to block Republican amendments on
sensitive issues, including a proposal to increase local aid to
cities and towns.
The study amendment passed 108-45, with 12 Democrats joining all 33
Republicans against the study.
The debate on immigration checks, the first extended debate in the
House since an expanded gambling debate in mid-September, came as
the House considered a bill that leaders described as a “pressing”
plan to send $39 million to homeless services and $10 million to
communities hit by Tropical Storm Irene.
Despite the disagreement on the immigration amendment, the spending
bill passed unanimously.
About 1 percent of the $9.6 billion the state spent on Medicaid
claims last fiscal year covered services for immigrants who couldn't
prove their legal status, according to the Patrick administration
report.
The data was released to a Republican lawmaker who had threatened to
hold up a key spending bill last month until he got the data he
requested. That lawmaker, Rep. James Lyons (R-Andover), said Monday
he was still analyzing the data and hadn’t drawn conclusions yet.
In a letter to Lyons, Secretary of Health and Human Services JudyAnn
Bigby identified $93 million in fiscal 2011 spending on 54,732
“immigrants who have not provided documentation" as to their
Medicaid eligibility.
“I ask what do you do?” said Rep. Steven Walsh (D-Lynn), co-chairman
of the Legislature’s Health Care Financing Committee. “It's a
serious problem but it shouldn't be trivialized on a day like
today.”
Walsh said the issue is a subject for a larger debate on immigration
reform. He said the proposal's sponsors were also making a “leap” by
concluding individuals who could not provide documentation are
illegal immigrants while acknowledging that some of those
individuals probably are in the state illegally.
Rep. Marc Lombardo (R-Billerica) also pointed to the new numbers to
make a case for an amendment to send surplus tax revenue to local
aid. Lombardo extrapolated from the administration report to
estimate that the state has spent $450 million on medical services
for illegal immigrants since 2006, when health care reform
legislation was signed by Gov. Mitt Romney.
Rep. Lyons added that the Lombardo amendment would show that Beacon
Hill was interested in sharing gains with cities and towns and not
only in demanding shared sacrifices in hard times.
“Local aid has been cut even as the state budget has increased. Now
there's an unexpected budget surplus,” Lyons said. “Fairness demands
that Beacon Hill shares.”
House Majority Whip Charles Murphy ripped the proposal repeatedly as
“very simple,” delivering an emphatic speech that drew scattered
applause from colleagues.
“To come up and suggest that local aid is the only thing that we
should be taking care of is a fallacy and it's wrong,” he said. “We,
as elected representatives, have to look at the big picture.”
Like the immigration proposal, the local aid amendment was negated
by a proposal for further study offered by Rep. Dempsey.
The spending bill was a pared down version of a proposal offered by
Gov. Deval Patrick last month. Patrick had also included tens of
millions of dollars in funding for technology needs across state
government, support for sheriffs’ offices, and youth summer jobs.
Dempsey told the News Service the House would eye those proposals
later but wanted to dispense with more “pressing” needs first.
“We’re looking carefully at that. We understand the sheriffs and
others have financial concerns that we’re going to look at very,
very carefully. This is really, we just pulled out those that are
most pressing,” he said.
Dempsey said a new homelessness program aimed at steering families
out of hotels and motels and into housing had drawn “significant
interest” since it was adopted in July.
“As a result of that, the costs have exceeded expectations,” he
said. “We will be allowing folks that are currently in the program
to stay in the program. Then we close it. However, folks that need
assistance, we broaden the ability for folks to get into emergency
assistance while we sort through this … The good news is, More
families are being moved out of hotels and motels. The challenge now
is the cost and the interest level.”
Department of Housing and Community Development officials were not
available to discuss concerns over the program’s costs.
Department spokeswoman Mary-Leah Assad released a statement in
response to News Service inquiries.
“The Patrick-Murray Administration has worked with the legislature
to end homelessness and move toward a housing-first response for
families since day one,” Assad said. “We included significant
reforms in the FY2012 budget to provide families in need with an
alternative to shelter. The reforms have provided 1,959 families
entering the emergency assistance system with household or rental
assistance and reduced the number of families being sheltered in
Emergency Assistance hotels by 25%. We recognize that there is still
work to do and we are continuing to work with the legislature to
determine the best way to move forward with the reforms.”
The Boston Herald
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
GOP loses bid demanding immigration review for benefits
By Gary J. Remal
Beacon Hill Democrats beat back a move by House Republicans
yesterday that would have forced Bay State officials to check the
immigration status of anyone seeking state health, housing, college
education or most other publicly funded benefits, after a freshman
GOP lawmaker forced state officials to reveal the state spent $93
million on health care for illegal aliens last year.
“It is important to show Massachusetts taxpayers that some
legislators are interested in protecting their hard-earned dollars
from being misspent,” said state Rep. Daniel Webster, (R-Pembroke).
“This is only the tip of the iceberg. If $93 million is spent
annually on MassHealth benefits for illegal aliens, one can only
imagine how much money in all other state sponsored benefits is
being given away to those who are in our country unlawfully.”
The vote followed efforts by state Rep. James Lyons Jr.,
(R-Andover), who forced the Patrick administration to release
figures showing spending on health care for illegal aliens
spotlighted in Saturday’s Herald.
GOP House members tried to attach the requirement as an amendment to
a $92 million supplemental state budget largely providing funds for
state housing programs.
All 33 House Republicans voted in favor of the measure along with 11
[sic - 12] Democrats, Webster said. But
a majority vote by Democrats shuffled Webster’s amendment off to the
House Post Audit Committee, where it will likely die, he said.
“It was sent to oblivion and never to see the light of day,” Webster
said. House Democrats and the governor could not be reached for
comment.
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