NJ Spotlight published the following article on August 15, 2014. To read the full article, click here.
NEARLY 10,000 NEW JERSEYANS COULD LOSE ‘OBAMACARE’ HEALTH INSURANCE
Federal officials say they must produce proof of citizenship or immigration documents by Sept. 5
Nearly 10,000 New Jersey residents are in danger of losing their health insurance since the federal government doesn’t have proof of their citizenship or immigration status.
That has prompted federal officials and local healthcare advocates to begin a push to reach those people before they lose their coverage.
The approximately 9,600 residents in question bought insurance through thefederal insurance marketplace, which began enrolling residents last fall for health plans that started Jan. 1. The marketplace and state-based exchanges were a central provision of the 2010 Affordable Care Act.
The ACA limited access to the marketplace to U.S. citizens and immigrants with permanent resident — or “green card” — status. Problems arose for some marketplace enrollees when the Social Security or permanent resident card number they provided in their application didn’t match federal records.