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| Former foster youth trying to survive after being tortured in care and dumped on the streets when they age out. |
To begin, allow me to make a substantial correction to the reasoning behind this legislation to provide foster youth Medicaid.
The legislative analysis is still on the drawing table so I will save them some time and present my own version.
Foster youth do have legal guardians.
Not every state is structured the same, but for purposes of brevity in proving my point, I introduce Michigan as my example.
The legal guardian for more than 7,000 foster youth in Michigan is.... MCL 400.203 Sec.(3)(1)!
The Superintendent of the Michigan Children's Institute, Bruce Hoffman. (It used to be Bill Johnson but I guess he was needed full time to cover up the fraud in its child welfare contracting. Bruce Hoffman was always number 2.)
Then there is that nasty legal technicality of termination of the Michigan Superintendent's parental rights to these state wards, which of course is defined as "legal and physical guardianship and custody", and has never been examined, except by me.
Of course, I would be remiss if I did not bring up the fact that foster care is not what the pretty shiny brochures make it out to be. So, any child who survives foster care, whether it be through aging out, reunification or just not dying in care, should be designated, automatically, unless there is a petition to opt out, to be formally designated as disabled, under Social Security Administration, Social Supplemental Disability Income, better known as SSI.
Medicaid becomes an automatic provision of SSI, meaning the foster youths are guaranteed health care.
As it stands, former foster youth do not have access to proper health care, particularly services and resources for the hell they have survived under state care.
Much of the horrors of foster care stay with these survivors for their entire lifetime. Why limit to just 26 years?
To further support my position on transitioning foster youth in need of more assistance than what is currently provided, Michigan is still under federal monitoring of its child welfare system because it still sucks.
Lastly, keeping foster youth under the auspices of a state for the purposes of accessing health care is just plain stupid because I can already see the flood gates open to new and improved Medicaid fraud schemes in child welfare.
If we, as a nation, cannot stand up and admit that the entire U.S. child welfare system can only be measured by its success in creating the highest international levels of child poverty in the industrialized world, then at least we can throw these former foster youth a few scraps to survive on the streets once they are kicked out by the same "caring" foster parents who no longer receive maintenance payments for their care.
Keep it simple. Keep it real. Keep it logical. Just get SSA Commissioner Michael Asture to get a HALLEX policy transmittal.
Feel free to copy and paste my research, below.
Claimant is disabled under section 1614(a)(3)(C) of the Social Security Act. Pursuant to § 416.924(a), the sequential evaluation steps of determining a child disability provides that the Administration “will consider all relevant evidence in a child's case record, that we will consider all impairments for which we have evidence and their combined effects, and that we will evaluate any limitations in a child's functioning that result from a child's symptoms, including pain.” (H.R. Conf. Rep. No. 725, 104th Cong., 2d Sess. 328 (1996), reprinted in 1996 U.S. Code, Cong. and Ad. News 2649, 2716. The House report contains similar language. See H.R. Rep. No. 651, 104th Cong., 2d Sess. 1385 (1996), reprinted in 1996 U.S. Code, Cong. and Ad. News 2183, 2444.)
Continuing with reference to Pub.L. 104193 Section 211(a) of Public Law 104193 amended section 1614(a)(3), claimants, foster youth, are disabled as the condition has lasted and is expected to last for a continuous period of more than 12 months, as supported with the duration of this administrative claim, 12 months being the average length of stay in foster care and 12 months being the tolling period to initiate termination of parental rights.
Claimants, foster youth, are typically not working, and have impairments which is of the required duration and which significantly limits the ability to work, considering some foster youth who were able to be reunified with their original guardians are under the age of 16 years. [See 20 CFR §§416.920(a) through (c )(1989)]
This is a better policy companion to SB 1852.
This is the time to end the "groupthink" and start to listen to an original source.
As they continue to address the needs of the hundreds of thousands of young people who are currently a part of the foster care system and the tens of thousands who leave the system each year, Reps. Karen Bass (D-Calif.) and Jim McDermott (D-Wash.)—Co-Chairs of the Congressional Caucus on Foster Youth—announced they introduced H.R. 3641, the “Health Insurance for Former Foster Youth Act of 2015,” legislation that will close a loophole and guarantee that foster youth will still receive health insurance through Medicaid until they turn 26 years old regardless of their state of residence.
One of the goals of the Affordable Care Act was to ensure that young people could stay on their parents’ insurance until they turn 26. Because foster youth do not have legal guardians, the law addressed foster youth by guaranteeing that as long they were in the foster care system by the time they were 18 years old, they would be able to receive Medicaid until they turned 26.
However, because of ambiguity in one section of the law, foster youth who leave the foster care system may find themselves without health insurance through Medicaid if they decide to move out the state—even if they are attending college, working, or need to leave for personal reasons.
Although 13 states have addressed this issue, foster youth in the remaining 37 states and the District of Columbia face the choice of leaving the state for new opportunities or losing their health insurance. One of these young people is Lezlie Martinez, a 19-year-old former foster youth from San Diego, California.
Ms. Martinez was planning on moving to Colorado because of the lower cost of living there, and her boyfriend will soon be moving to the state—meaning that she will have a support system for herself as well as for her two-year-old son.
However, Colorado is a state that is not offering free Medicaid to former foster youth, and now Ms. Martinez is faced with having to decide between having healthcare while living in one room with her son or moving to Colorado so she can provide a better life for her child and herself but face losing her health insurance.
“This changes everything,” said Ms. Martinez as she is forced to confront decisions about not just her future, but for her child as well.
“The Affordable Care Act was designed to help young people like Lezlie, not force them to choose between school in another state or healthcare where they currently live,” said Bass. “I commend the states that have addressed this problem, but now it is time for Congress to provide a permanent fix in federal law.”
The “Health Insurance for Former Foster Youth Act” is particularly important to ensure that foster youth maintain uninterrupted access to health insurance. According to the Congressional Research Service, between 35 and 60 percent of youth who enter foster care have at least one chronic or acute health condition such as asthma, cognitive abnormalities, visual and auditory problems, dental decay, and malnutrition that require long-term treatment, and 50 to 75 percent of foster youth exhibit behavioral or social competency issues that may require mental health treatment. In 2013, nearly 50,000 youth exited the foster care system between the ages of 16-20.
“I am proud to join with Congresswoman Bass in introducing this important legislation. Young adults in the foster care system deserve our special care and concern, as they came into the system through no fault of their own. These young adults are among the least served populations and its vitally important that Congress does all it can to provide them affordable and reliable access to medical care. I believe this legislation will do just that by making small clarifying fixes to the Affordable Care Act,” said Congressman McDermott.
Congressmembers G.K. Butterfield (D-NC), Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Tony Cardenas (D- CA), Kathy Castor (D-FL), Judy Chu (D-CA), Yvette Clarke (D-NY), John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI), Danny K. Davis (D- IL), Mark DeSaulnier (D-CA), Lloyd Doggett (D-TX), John Garamendi (D-CA), Raul Grijalva (D-AZ), Alcee Hastings (D-FL), Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX), Marcy Kaptur (D-OH), Robin Kelly (D-IL), Ron Kind (D-WI), Jim Langevin (D- RI), John Lewis (D-GA), Alan Lowenthal (D-CA), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), Bill Pascrell (D-NJ), Donald M. Payne, Jr. (D- NJ), Mark Pocan (D-WI), Charlie Rangel (D- NY), Louise Slaughter (D-NY), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Frederica Wilson (D-FL), and Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ) joined the legislation as original co-sponsors.
Over 140 prominent advocacy organizations support the legislation, including First Focus Campaign for Children, The Alliance for Children’s Rights, American Academy of Pediatrics, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), American Psychological Association, Children’s Defense Fund, Child Welfare League of America, and Foster Family-based Treatment Association.
H.R. 3641 is companion legislation to S.1852, introduced by Senator Bob Casey (D-PA).
114th CONGRESS
1st Session |
To amend title XIX of the Social Security Act to ensure health insurance coverage continuity for former foster youth.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
September 29, 2015
Ms. Bass (for herself, Mr. McDermott, Mr. Langevin, Mr. Doggett, Mrs. Watson Coleman, Mr. Grijalva, Mr. Pascrell, Mr. Cárdenas, Mr. Conyers, Mr. Blumenauer, Mr. Danny K. Davis of Illinois, Ms. Jackson Lee, Mr. Garamendi, Mr. Rangel, Ms. Norton, Mr. Payne, Ms. Clarke of New York, Ms. Kaptur, Ms. Judy Chu of California, Ms. Slaughter, Ms. Wilson of Florida, Mr. DeSaulnier, Mr. Pocan, Ms. Kelly of Illinois, Mr. Kind, Mr.Lewis, Mr. Butterfield, Ms. Castor of Florida, Mr. Lowenthal, Mr. Hastings, Mr. Van Hollen, and Mr. Ellison) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce
A BILL
To amend title XIX of the Social Security Act to ensure health insurance coverage continuity for former foster youth.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
This Act may be cited as the “Health Insurance for Former Foster Youth Act”.
(a) In General.—Section 1902(a)(10)(A)(i)(IX) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396a(a)(10)(A)(i)(IX)) is amended—
(1) in item (bb), by striking “are not described in or enrolled under” and inserting “are not described in and are not enrolled under”;
(2) in item (cc), by striking “responsibility of the State” and inserting “responsibility of a State”; and
(3) in item (dd), by striking “the State plan under this title or under a waiver of the” and inserting “a State plan under this title or under a waiver of such a”.
(b) Effective Date.—The amendments made by this section shall take effect on the date of enactment of this Act.
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