Court Rules Immigrant Exclusion from CommCare
"Likely Violates Equal Protection"

 

The Massachusetts Supreme Court ruled in May that the exclusion of immigrants from the state's universal healthcare program was likely a violation of "equal protection obligations" under law. Said Matt Selig, Executive Director of Health Law Advocates (HLA), "This ruling makes it extremely difficult, if not impossible, for the Commonwealth to defend the exclusion of about 40,000 legal immigrants from receiving the same access to coverage as every other Massachusetts resident."

The ruling came in response to a class action lawsuit brought on behalf of immigrants by HLA, with the support of groups ranging from Health Care for All (HCA) to the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition (MIRA). These groups claimed that the state unconstitutionally excluded a class of legal immigrants from access to the state's universal healthcare coverage program, Commonwealth Care. These immigrants, most of whom had received their green cards less than five years ago, were cut from the program by the legislature in the summer of 2009, victims of the state's initial budget crisis. In response, Governor Patrick worked with the legislature to create the Commonwealth Care Bridge program, which offered fewer services and higher out-of-pocket expenses than regular Commonwealth Care. The number of immigrants covered by Bridge has winnowed to about 19,000, but another 20,000 have since been shut out of any state sponsored healthcare coverage whatsoever, as the Bridge program has remained closed to new applicants.

In a public statement, Amy Whitcomb Slemmer, Executive Director of HCA, hailed the court's ruling. "We applaud the Supreme Judicial Court's decision today to uphold our core value as a Commonwealth that all legal residents of Massachusetts deserve equal access to health care," she said. "We call on the Legislature and Governor to carry out the decision quickly and fairly to restore Commonwealth Care benefits to approximately 40,000 people who the Court found were denied equal protection."

As of this writing, the state budget is in the midst of debate in the Senate. Amendments that would reintegrate these legal immigrants back into Commonwealth Care have been proposed and are up for debate.

 

5/11