The Trump Administration's Proposed Rule Could Prevent Immigrants From Receiving Healthcare
Just before my eighth birthday, my father and I moved from Shanghai to join my mother in Utah. My parents did everything they could to make a better life for us in this country-including using federal benefits such as Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), food stamps, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Medicaid. When my mom was pregnant with my little sister, she received nutritional education, health care referrals, and other support from Women Infant and Children (WIC) services. With the help of these programs, and while saving their pennies from working multiple jobs, my parents were able to secure a better future for my sister and me.
I believe no one’s health should be compromised because of where they come from or how much money they make. As a doctor, an immigrant, a public health expert and president of Planned Parenthood, I am proud to treat patients regardless of their immigration status.
Now, the current administration is trying to prevent immigrants from providing for their families in the same way my parents did for us. Its proposed regulation, known as the “public charge” rule, could deny immigrants visas, green cards, and entry into the U.S. simply because they have received any of a broad range of legally-accessible public benefits. The administration is collecting input from the public on its dangerous rule until Monday, Dec. 10, and we must take action and make our voices heard.
This rule means a person could be penalized for using Medicaid to get a checkup or fill a prescription; food assistance programs like SNAP to feed their children; or public housing benefits to provide their family a safe place to live. And it doesn’t stop there. The public charge rule would punish anyone the government deems likely to use public benefits - effectively discriminating against people with low incomes and creating a system that favors immigrants who are wealthy. The new public charge policy will further entrench immigrant families in a cycle of poverty and illness. That’s unacceptable and incredibly unjust.
Beyond its alarming effect on individual and family health, this new policy undermines the health of our entire country-and the Department of Homeland Security acknowledges it. Bloomgberg reports that between 2014 and 2016, "almost 18 million noncitizens and naturalized citizens lived in families in which at least one member used a major means-tested public benefit program." If they stop receiving care, the rates of disease–such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and the flu–will climb. And our gains in infant mortality, among other important indicators of health, could reverse. The health of a population depends on the aggregate health of its individual members, and programs such as WIC, SNAP, and Medicaid are investments in our societal welfare.
Limiting access to health care is a tool of oppression-a tool the administration knows well. Public charge is just one of many policies they have enacted to take care and power away from immigrants. This administration has attempted to rescind Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA); ended Temporary Protected Status (TPS); separated children from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border; kept children in unsafe and unhealthy conditions in detention centers; and, horrifyingly, tear gassed small children of asylum-seekers attempting to enter the country.
As a new mother, I cannot imagine being forced to choose between my one-year-old’s health insurance and my family’s ability to remain in the United States. As the president of Planned Parenthood, where I am honored to serve the 2.4 million people who rely on us for care every year, I know our patients, their communities, and the country could see devastating results from this rule.
Planned Parenthood will not stand by silently as immigrants’ rights to health care are attacked and maligned. We will be here to treat our patients with dignity, compassion, and respect. Health care is a fundamental human right that has nothing to do with citizenship status.
I urge all of us to submit a public comment expressing the injustice of preventing those in need from accessing safety net services. The policy change significantly harms the health of individuals and communities and it further disadvantages already marginalized populations. We need you to stand against this policy by leaving a comment now to demand the administration withdraw its “public charge” rule.
So, instead of forcing immigrant families to make such a difficult decision, I turn the choice onto us. Will we choose to promote the health and well-being of all children and families, or will we choose to revoke assistance from the most vulnerable in our community? For me, it’s an easy choice. We must stop the administration from unraveling the temporary safety nets that help immigrants make a better life for their children.
Dr. Leana Wen is the president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America.
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