HHS Rescinds Healthcare Benefits for Millions of Immigrants

On July 10, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced that it rescinded a policy that extended certain federal public benefits to immigrants lacking permanent legal status.

“HHS has formally rescinded a 1998 interpretation of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA),” the press release stated. “For over two decades, the 1998 policy improperly narrowed the scope of PRWORA, undercutting the law by allowing illegal aliens to access programs Congress intended only for the American people.”

“For too long, the government has diverted hardworking Americans’ tax dollars to incentivize illegal immigration,” HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. said in a statement. “Today’s action changes that—it restores integrity to federal social programs, enforces the rule of law, and protects vital resources for the American people.”

“Critics fear the added restrictions will further marginalize a vulnerable group of immigrants who often have scarce resources, exacerbating public health crises in the U.S.,” Al Jazeera reported on July 10. “Critics have accused his (President Donald Trump’s) administration of violating human rights and the U.S. Constitution, as well as exceeding his presidential authority.”

Head Start is one of the programs included in the updated list of classified “Federal public benefits,” and will now only be available to U.S. citizens.

The revised, but not exhaustive, list includes:

• Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics
• Community Mental Health Services Block Grant
• Community Services Block Grant (CSBG)
• Head Start
• Health Center Program
• Health Workforce Programs not otherwise previously covered (including grants, loans, scholarships, payments, and loan repayments).
• Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Treatment, Prevention, and Recovery Support Services Programs administered by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
• Projects for Assistance in Transition from Homelessness Grant Program
• Substance Use Prevention, Treatment, and Recovery Services Block Grant
• Title IV-E Educational and Training Voucher Program
• Title IV-E Kinship Guardianship Assistance Program
• Title IV-E Prevention Services Program
• Title X Family Planning Program

Anthony Wright, Families USA's Executive Director, said the following in a statement: "Denying children health care is cruel and counterproductive. While targeting immigrants, these Trump Administration actions serve to undermine our collective public health and underfund the health and human service providers that all of our communities and children depend on. We all have a stake in ensuring that all our neighbors get affordable preventive and primary care, rather than costly and inefficient episodic care in emergency rooms."

The revised policy will take effect immediately upon publication in the Federal Register but will be subject to a 30-day comment period. The notice explained that “delay would be contrary to the public interest and fail to address the ongoing emergency at the Southern Border of the United States.”