Rhode Island Governor Might Reconsider Proposal To Eliminate 3,000 Undocumented Immigrant Children from RIte Care

Rhode Island Gov. Donald Carcieri (R) on Monday said he might abandon his proposal to eliminate 3,000 undocumented immigrant children from RIte Care, the state's Medicaid managed care program, after receiving word of an unexpected $9 million in federal reimbursement for SCHIP, the Providence Journal reports (Gudrais, Providence Journal, 4/4). Carcieri in February proposed eliminating from RIte Care children whose families have an annual household income lower than 250% of the federal poverty level and whose parents cannot prove they are legal residents. The plan would save the state $4 million this fiscal year. The proposal has been criticized by advocates and some lawmakers (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 4/3). At a breakfast on Monday with Rhode Island Kids Count, Carcieri said he still feels that providing health insurance to those children is "not a good policy" but added, "I am prepared to work with the General Assembly to see if we can at least grandfather the cohort we have, but stop the program going forward." Carcieri's staff said he received a verbal commitment from HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt that Rhode Island would be reimbursed at a rate of 68% for some funding the state spends on SCHIP, resulting in the additional $9 million. Carcieri's budget proposal assumed the state would be reimbursed at a rate of 52%. State Rep. Steven Constantino (D) said, "I think it's good news if it's real. It would be a terrible disappointment ... if it's not." Marti Rosenberg, director of Ocean State Action, said, "It's good that he's feeling some pressure to move off of his original position, but his new proposal will change nothing about the fact that children will still be here, ill, in a pay-now or pay-more-later situation" (Providence Journal, 4/4).