A change to immigration policy threatens to shake up health care for millions of legal immigrants and the doctors who serve them.
There are millions of legal immigrants who depend on programs like Medicaid — and now, after the Trump administration revamped a nearly 140-year-old immigration rule, there's growing concern that many will drop out.
First, Ted Hesson joins POLITICO's Dan Diamond to discuss how the new "public charge" rule would work (starts at the 2:00-minute mark), White House official Stephen Miller's role in driving the plan (8:05) and the broader immigration changes underway (12:00).
Then, Dr. Omolara Uwemedimo of Northwell Health explains her background as the daughter of immigrants and her work as a pediatrician (starts at the 17:05-minute mark), how she sees immigrant patients being affected by the new rule (20:45) and her broader observations on how immigration and health care collide (26:00).
MENTIONED ON THE SHOW
Immigration official Ken Cuccinelli appeared on NPR last week to defend the public charge rule — and twist the inscription on the Statue of Liberty.
The Urban Institute reviewed how the public charge rule could affect immigrants' use of government programs like Medicaid.
The Kaiser Family Foundation also prepared a fact sheet on the rule's impact.
Ted's story about Stephen Miller's close involvement in the public charge rule, complete with Miller's emails.
Ted also broke news about how the State Department's public charge denials have already skyrocketed, a possible precursor to national implementation of the new rule.
Dr. Uwemedimo's op-ed in Newsweek about her family's immigration story and why she's worried about the public charge rule's impact.
Michael Dowling, the CEO of Northwell Health — the largest health care provider in New York — is himself an immigrant from Ireland.