Woman sues for Medicaid coverage for her unborn child

On the University Faculty for Life blog, Professor Teresa Collett writes:

A Nebraska woman who is not eligible for state medical assistance because of her immigration status has sued the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services for denying coverage to her unborn child under SCHIPS. According to local news accounts:

“Nebraska state government officials were sued in a similar case last year for cutting off prenatal care to more than 1,500 low-income pregnant women when they ended a program this year that provided Medicaid coverage for unborn children.

The class-action suit, also filed by the Nebraska Appleseed, alleged that the state acted outside its authority when ending the two-decade-old program.

More than 800 illegal immigrants and 700 legal residents lost Medicaid coverage in March 2010 after state officials said they were forced by the federal government to eliminate the one-of-a-kind policy because it broke Medicaid rules.

It allowed unborn children, not just their mothers, to qualify for Medicaid. That meant women who didn’t qualify for Medicaid — such as illegal immigrants — were allowed to get Medicaid-covered prenatal care.”

The case is Sarah Roe v. the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Resources et. al, CI- 11-3608, Lancaster County Dist. Ct.