The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has issued guidelines assuring that babies born to women covered by Medicaid or CHIP will be automatically enrolled in those programs for 1 year.

This announcement was made in a letter to state health officials (pdf) providing guidance on the implementation of the Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009 (CHIPRA), one of the first bills signed into law by President Obama.

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Specifically, the new provisions under CHIPRA:

• Extend deemed newborn eligibility under Medicaid or CHIP to children born to mothers receiving CHIP coverage
• Eliminate the Medicaid requirement that, in order to receive coverage under Medicaid, newborns coming home from the hospital must live with the mother, remain a member of the mother’s household, and that the mother remain eligible for Medicaid.
• Amend the citizenship documentation requirements added by the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (DRA) to provide that children who were initially eligible for Medicaid or CHIP as deemed newborns shall be considered to have provided satisfactory documentation of citizenship and identity when their eligibility is renewed on their first birthday.

“CMS has confirmed that newborns will automatically be enrolled in health coverage, making it much easier for low-income mothers, including those who are direct-care workers, to access care for their children,” said Carol Regan, director of the PHI Health Care for Health Care Workers campaign.