Health-care access to legal immigrant children advances

If kids are legal residents, they should be eligible for low income health care. They will be here all their lives and we want them healthy from the beginning. In the long run, this will save the country money. - - Donna Poisl

Sen. Chris Buttars provides critical vote

By María Villaseñor, The Salt Lake Tribune

With a key affirmative vote by Sen. Chris Buttars, R-West Jordan, legislation that aims to remove a five-year waiting period for legal immigrant children to receive access to low-income health care was sent to the Senate floor.

Sen. Luz Robles, D-Salt Lake City, altered her SB44 to give it a starting date of July 1, 2012, noting this is a tough financial year to extend Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program services to the estimated 800 children who would become eligible. Last year, the federal government removed the five-year waiting period imposed on states, and 28 states have extended the low-income health benefits, Robles said.
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