The Vermont House voted Tuesday to give preliminary approval to expanding insurance coverage to help undocumented women and children obtain medical care.
The legislation, H.430, would cover roughly 100 children and 22 pregnant women a year who are currently ineligible for health insurance because of their immigration status.
Most low-income families in Vermont get their health insurance through Medicaid, which is funded by both the state and federal governments. Kids 18 and younger whose households earn below 317% of the federal poverty line (about $83,000 a year for a family of four) are eligible for Dr. Dynasaur, Vermont’s expanded version of the insurance.
If passed, the bill would ensure that Dr. Dynasaur coverage is available to all undocumented immigrants by July 1, 2022.
The bill comes with a $1.4 million price tag — one that lawmakers say is actually pretty cheap, considering the amount of good it would do. Plus, officials said it’s quite likely the measure could even save the state money in the long run.
“Individuals are left with enormous bills for this most expensive care, and they could never hope to begin to repay it,” said Rep. Alyssa Black, D-Essex. “If they are unable to pay, this care is written off, and write-offs are a contributing factor for the shifting costs in our health care system, shifts that lead to rising costs for everyone. Quite simply, we are already paying for this care.”
Rep. David Yacovone, D-Morrisville, who read an amendment to the bill added by the House Committee on Appropriations, said the bill would include roughly $1.3 million for reimbursement of medical care and $135,000 for outreach and technical work to get the program going.
There were a few dissenting votes on the bill, including from Rep. Rob LaClair, R-Barre, who said that he thinks this bill misses the larger question around immigration reform — a problem that he said is “continuing to get worse.”
“My concern obviously is these folks aren’t here legally,” LaClair said. “What’s going to happen so that this process works and we don’t have to continue to make all these exceptions as a result of the laws that we have now?”
He said he thinks this bill “probably won’t” make a difference in solving the problems he sees, but he said he thinks his vote is a reminder that those conversations need to be happening.
Black said the bill’s passage would help with the Legislature’s broader goals this session of addressing racial justice on a systemic level, as most of Vermont’s undocumented children and mothers are people of color.
“As we continue to address racial equity in our health care system, adopting these changes is a significant and straightforward step to decreasing racial disparities in care,” Black said.
The legislation passed with overwhelming support on second reading Tuesday afternoon. Final approval for the bill is expected Wednesday; it then goes to the Senate.
