ELDER AND DISABLED LEGAL IMMIGRANTS LOSE MASSHEALTH… AGAIN

The Massachusetts legislature did not override Governor Romney's veto of MassHealth coverage for elderly and disabled immigrants that was part of the legislature’s FY ’05 budget. The Mass. Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition (MIRA) reports that though they “had the support for the veto to be overridden had it come up for a vote, this veto did not come up for a vote. A combination of factors including the legislature having limited time to take up override vetos (sic), reluctance from the leadership and some anti-immigrant sentiment around the state worked against us.” As a result, elderly and disabled immigrants who were temporarily restored to MassHealth Essential coverage on June 1 will once again be cut as of October 1, 2004.

As previously reported, MassHealth Essential was reinstated for this population after a successful override of a Governor veto this past January. The 2,800 elderly and disabled immigrants receiving MassHealth Essential coverage right now should do whatever they can to get prescriptions filled and anticipated health needs met before September 30th. Emergency MassHealth Limited coverage will continue and most will revert to that coverage. Advocates should keep an eye out for potential upgrades as some immigrants may have aged into the regular MassHealth coverage if their status has changed or more than five years has elapsed in qualified status.

-Adapted from e-mails from Carly Burton of MIRA, “MassHealth for Elderly and Disabled Immigrants UPDATE” and Pat Baker “MassHealth for Elder/Disabled Immigrants: Legislature Fails to Override Gov's Veto - next steps”, Mass. Law Reform Institute.