Trump immigration proposal may mean sick kids lose health benefits

A Trump administration proposal to increase the odds that immigrants will be deemed “public charges” ineligible for government health benefits may result in millions of kids becoming uninsured, a study suggests. The proposed changes are expected to cause many immigrants to disenroll their children from safety-net programs like Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) out of fear and confusion, even among families to whom the rule would not apply. Nationwide, 8.3 million children who have Medicaid and CHIP, or roughly one in four kids currently enrolled, are at risk of being disenrolled in health and nutrition benefit programs if the proposed rule changes take effect, the study authors estimate. This includes 5.5 million kids with specific medical needs like ADHD, asthma, cancer or diabetes.