Maryland to reinstate Medicaid program for legal immigrant children, pregnant women

Maryland will reinstate a $7 million Medicaid program that provides health benefits to legal immigrant children and pregnant women, state officials said Thursday, the Washington Post reports (Otto, Washington Post, 10/20).

The state's decision is in response to a state Court of Appeals ruling last week that upheld a Montgomery County Circuit Court's preliminary injunction blocking the cuts, the Baltimore Sun reports.

The rulings stem from a lawsuit filed by the Maryland Legal Aid Bureau and Bethesda attorney Douglas Bregman alleging the Medicaid cuts were discriminatory (Brewington, Baltimore Sun, 10/20).

In the lawsuit, families of 13 immigrant children alleged that Maryland discriminated against non-U.S. citizens by cutting a Medicaid program that provided health benefits for pregnant women and about 4,000 children who are legal, permanent residents. Gov. Robert Ehrlich (R) later reinstated coverage for pregnant women enrolled in the program (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 1/17).

The court's decision is "not only a victory for the 13 plaintiffs; it is a sweeping victory for an entire class of people similarly situated," Bregman said.

Anthony McCann, secretary of the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, on Thursday said the agency had begun restoring the health benefits to the 13 plaintiffs and would begin to extend the benefits to eligible families (Baltimore Sun, 10/20).

He added that new medical assistance cards will be mailed to the 13 plaintiffs "in the next day or two" and that state officials will begin informing former recipients who still are eligible that their coverage has been restored.

According to the Post, state social service offices have been instructed to inform families who might have become eligible for the program (Washington Post, 10/20).

According to the Sun, it is unclear whether the benefits will be restored retroactively (Baltimore Sun, 10/20).