Basic health plan for noncitizens launches July 1

A revised version of a controversial new health plan for low-income noncitizens called Basic Health Hawaii launches on July 1, one year after it was first announced and was met with opposition from immigrant and patient advocates.

The plan is an attempt by Hawaii officials to transfer to a less-costly, less-comprehensive health insurance program immigrants from Pacific Island nations, such as Micronesia, the Marshall Islands and Palau, who live legally in Hawaii but aren’t eligible for federal medical assistance programs.

The revised plan, announced by the Hawaii Department of Human Services on June 14, also will be available to low-income legal aliens who have lived in Hawaii for less than five years. Until now, these individuals have not been eligible for Medicaid and the state hasn’t provided health insurance for them.

Basic Health Hawaii will be administered by the nonprofits AlohaCare and Kaiser Permanente Hawaii and by Hawaii Medical Service Association. Officials intended to launch the plan last September, but a federal court issued a temporary restraining order -- later withdrawn – following legal challenges by immigrant and patient advocates who argued that the new plan unjustly excluded coverage of crucial services such as dialysis and chemotherapy.

Because of these community complaints and a 1st Circuit Court ruling in December, the state adopted new rules governing implementation of the plan and revised coverage parameters. “When we announced plans last summer for Basic Health Hawaii, some COFA migrants and their advocates were concerned that the program did not cover kidney dialysis and chemotherapy,” state Director of Human Services Lillian Koller said.

“This revised version of Basic Health Hawaii addresses those issues. While benefits are less in Basic Health Hawaii than in our comprehensive Medicaid programs,” she said, “this lingering economic downturn makes it untenable for the state to continue shouldering a federal responsibility.”

The plan will cover four medications monthly – including brand-name chemotherapy drugs – and clients who require kidney dialysis also will be treated for free. It also provides 12 outpatient doctor visits, 10 hospital days, six mental health visits, three procedures and emergency medical and dental care. For questions on Basic Health Hawaii, call the Hawaii Department of Human Services’ Customer Service at (800) 316-8005.