WICS Live: Around the States

California: Statewide Study Finds Federal Citizenship Requirement Imposes Significant Burden on Counties.The study, conducted by the California Endowment and California Healthcare Foundation, found that the citizenship requirement made it difficult for most individuals, including children over age 16 and people born outside the state, to access Medicaid because they had difficulty finding birth certificates, driver’s licenses, and other acceptable documentation. Officials reported that no cases of existing Medicaid recipients had previously claimed false citizenship. At the same time, all 58 counties in the state reported increased workloads, backlogs, and costs to implement the citizenship verification requirement.