Health care for immigrants extends to January 31

Thousands of families were bracing for the worst this holiday season in their health care coverage, but there is a bit more breathing room. The Patrick administration recently confirmed that the Commonwealth Care Bridge program (run by CeltiCare) will be extended until January 31. This temporary program is the only affordable health insurance plan that covers a group of 27,000 tax-paying permanent residents, or AWSS (aliens with special status). It was completely cut by the legislature last Spring during the FY2011 budget process, with the possibility of funding it via federal FMAP funding (Federal Medical Assistance Percentages). Although FMAP funding was appropriated for Massachusetts, the program eventually went unfunded.

Although a December 2010 report by the Commonwealth's Division of Health Care Finance and Policy boasts health insurance coverage rate of 98.1%, 120,000 Massachusetts residents are still uninsured. If the Commonwealth Care Bridge program goes unfunded after January 2011, it would increase the uninsured rates by almost 25%, leaving thousands of families vulnerable, disrupting critical medical procedures and relationships with providers, and further strain the state's Health Safety Net program.

The administration indicates a commitment to find other means to fund the program through the end of the fiscal year (June 2011) in the absence of legislative action. Health care and immigrant advocates hope that the FY2012 budget, which begins deliberation in January, will continue to fund this vital program.