Doctors say new rule will mean sicker immigrants

Diabetics skipping regular checkups. Young asthmatics not getting preventive care. A surge in expensive emergency room visits.

Doctors and public health experts warn of poor health and rising costs they say will come from sweeping Trump administration changes that would deny green cards to many immigrants who use Medicaid, as well as food stamps and other forms of public assistance.

Some advocates say they're already seeing the fallout even before the complex 837-page rule takes effect in October.

President Donald Trump's administration trumpeted its aggressive approach this past week as a way to keep only self-sufficient immigrants in the country, but health experts argue it could force potentially millions of low-income migrants to choose between needed services and their bid to stay legally in the US.

"People are going to be sicker. They're not going to go get health care, or not until they have to go to an emergency room," said Lisa David, president and CEO of Public Health Solutions, New York's largest public health organisation.

"It's going to cost the system a lot of money."
Immigrants who want permanent legal status, commonly called a green card, have long been required to prove they won't be "a public charge."
"That's a core principle of the American dream. It's deeply embedded in our history, and particularly our history related to legal immigration."