Murkowski Urges HHS to Reconsider Medicaid Evidence of Eligibilty Documentation for Native People
MURKOWSKI URGES HHS TO RECONSIDER MEDICAID EVIDENCE OF ELIGIBILTY DOCUMENTATION FOR NATIVE PEOPLE
Tribal Documentation Ought to Be Allowed to Establish U.S. Citizenship
Thursday, July 6, 2006
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator Lisa Murkowski recently wrote to Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt to ask that the Department issue additional guidance that allows tribal enrollment documentation to be used to establish citizenship and identity for those applying for Medicaid. Currently, the Department's interpretation of Section 6036(b) of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 does not allow States to consider preexisting, and federally accepted, evidence of eligibility when determining Native people's eligibility for Medicaid.
A copy of the letter follows.
June 30, 2006
The Honorable Michael Leavitt
Secretary
Health & Human Services
200 Independence Avenue, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20201
Dear Mr. Secretary:
I write to express my concern that the Department's current interpretation of Section 6036(b) of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 will not allow the States to consider evidence of eligibility for programs and services that the federal government makes available to our Native people in determining eligibility for Medicaid. This will unjustly require that my State of Alaska and other states declare Native people who have historically received Medicaid benefits ineligible for the program simply because they cannot produce the proper documents. I urge the Department to issue additional guidance that allows tribal enrollment documentation to be used to establish citizenship and identity for persons applying for Medicaid.
Virtually all Alaska Natives with a blood quantum of ¼ or more alive on December 17, 1971, who are citizens of the United States, were enrolled by the US Department of the Interior to participate in the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act and their names appear on an official federal roll. Moreover, many if not all Alaska Natives and their eligible descendants possess Certificates of Indian blood which are required to access the Alaska Native health care delivery system.
I am deeply troubled that the Department's present interpretation of Section 6036(b) will not allow any of this official government information to be utilized in determining eligibility for Medicaid even though Section 6036(b) affords you significant discretion in permitting alternative documentation to be used for purposes of establishing nationality and identity.
I would urge that you consult with our federally recognized Indian tribes and with your own Intradepartmental Council on Native American Affairs (ICNAA) to determine whether the very same documentation used to establish eligibility for federal Indian programs can be relied upon by the States to establish eligibility for Medicaid. I fear that the financial stability of our Indian health care delivery system as well as the health of our Native people will be jeopardized if we continue down the present path.
I thank you for your consideration of this request, and look forward to continuing to work with you to improve our nation's access to health care.
Sincerely,
Lisa Murkowski
United States Senator
http://murkowski.senate.gov/pressapp/record.cfm?id=258342