Press Releases

Washington A Children's Defense Fund® (CDF) analysis of Current Population Survey (CPS) data reveals that there are 933,000 uninsured immigrant children in families below 200 percent of the federal poverty line, many of whom would be eligible for health care coverage under a provision in the Senate Medicare prescription drug bill. The measure would allow, but not require, states to provide Medicaid and/or State Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) coverage to legal immigrant children and pregnant women. Currently, the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity and Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA) prohibits legal immigrants from receiving Medicaid or CHIP coverage during their first five years in the United States.

The children's health provision in the Senate bill also would encourage increased enrollment of more than 200,000 citizen children who are eligible for Medicaid or CHIP coverage but not enrolled. The CDF analysis shows that there are 216,000 uninsured U.S. citizen children living in low-income families with at least one immigrant child. This provision should have the indirect effect of extending health coverage to many of the uninsured citizen children living in these mixed families.

"There is no reason why the richest nation on earth ignores the health risks of low-income children," said Marian Wright Edelman, founder and president of the Children's Defense Fund. "Uninsured children are more likely to suffer from asthma, diabetes, and many other treatable medical conditions. We must do more to ensure that all children have a chance at good health by giving them the coverage they so urgently need."

The Children's Defense Fund believes that most states would take advantage of an option to provide Medicaid and/or CHIP coverage to recent legal immigrant children and pregnant women. Twenty states currently use state-only funds to provide health insurance coverage to legal immigrant children, but these programs are at risk because of severe state budget strains. Considering that almost 30 percent of uninsured children are in families with at least one non-citizen parent, this measure is essential to continuing the progress made during the past few years in reducing the number of uninsured children.

An amendment to strip these provisions from the Senate bill was defeated on the Senate floor by a margin of 65-33. The children's health measure is backed by a wide range of groups including the National Governors Association, the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the National Council of La Raza.

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• Full Report: House and Senate Conferees on the Medicare Prescription Drug Bills Could Help Hundreds of Thousands of Children, Both Immigrants and Citizens, Obtain Health Coverage
  (Adobe PDF : 4 pages : 160 KB)

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The mission of the Children's Defense Fund is to Leave No Child Behind and to ensure every child a Healthy Start, a Head Start, a Fair Start, a Safe Start, and a Moral Start in life and successful passage to adulthood with the help of caring families and communities. CDF provides a strong, effective voice for all the children of America who cannot vote, lobby, or speak for themselves. We pay particular attention to the needs of poor and minority children and those with disabilities. CDF educates the nation about the needs of children and encourages preventive investment before they get sick, into trouble, drop out of school, or suffer family breakdown. CDF began in 1973 and is a private, nonprofit organization supported by foundation and corporate grants and individual donations. We have never taken government funds.