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State must cover legal immigrants

THIS STORY APPEARED IN

January 06, 2012|By Chelsea Conaboy

The Rev. Juarez Goncalves with his wife, the Rev. Clauri Goncalves, and… (Matthew J. Lee/Globe Staff )

Massachusetts lawmakers must quickly find about $150 million to provide health insurance to tens of thousands of legal immigrants, after the state’s highest court ruled yesterday that they were illegally excluded from subsidized coverage available to other residents.

The Supreme Judicial Court said a 2009 law that cut legal immigrants from the insurance program “violates their rights to equal protection under the Massachusetts Constitution.’’ A challenge to that law had been filed on behalf of immigrants by Health Law Advocates, a Boston public interest firm.

State officials promised to take fast action on the court decision, which could affect up to 37,400 immigrants who have had legal status for less than five years. Finding the money will be difficult during “what is already a very challenging budget,’’ said Jay Gonzalez, state secretary of administration and finance.

“However, we respect the court’s decision,’’ he said. “We will work expeditiously to identify the resources required and the operational steps that need to be taken to integrate all eligible, legal immigrants into the Commonwealth Care program.’’

Commonwealth Care is a subsidized insurance program created in 2006 under the state law that required most residents to have health coverage.

Lawmakers said it was too soon to tell how they will find additional funding for Commonwealth Care, which was budgeted this year at about $822 million.

“It’s a big-ticket item, but the bottom line is that the court has ruled,’’ said Senator Stephen M. Brewer, chairman of the Senate Ways and Means Committee.

The court, in a unanimous decision written by Justice Robert Cordy, recognized the financial burden but said money could not factor in the ruling.

“If the plaintiffs’ right to equal protection of the laws has been violated . . . then it is our duty to say so,’’ the opinion said.

In 2009, at the height of the recession, the Legislature cut about 26,000 legal immigrants from Commonwealth Care to save $130 million. It createda separate health care plan for immigrants called the Commonwealth Care Bridge Program, which restricted their choice of hospitals and doctors, came with more expensive premiums, and did not cover certain services, such as vision, hospice, and skilled nursing care. It was open only to people who were previously enrolled in Commonwealth Care, so new legal immigrants were excluded from even this scaled-back coverage.