CMS initiative targets undocumented immigrants in Medicaid

Dive Brief:

The CMS launched an initiative on Tuesday meant to ensure that people enrolled in Medicaid are U.S. citizens or have “satisfactory immigration status,” as the agency continues efforts to stamp out perceived waste, fraud and abuse in federal healthcare programs.

To do so, CMS will provide states with monthly lists of beneficiaries whose citizenship or immigration status could not be confirmed via federal databases, the first of which went out Tuesday. States are expected to take “appropriate actions” in light of the reports, including making coverage adjustments, the agency said.

The oversight program is part of a broader push from the Trump administration to root out what it says is abuse of Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program by undocumented immigrants. “