Citizens Need Documentation to Receive Federal Money

The New York Times has this boo-hooer that some people have lost their Medicaid benefits because they can't prove they are U.S. citizens.

The story gives several anecdotes of people who have had to postpone treatments or paid for medications themselves because they don't have the documentation needed for Medicaid. The documentation required is a birth certificate and sometimes a driver's license.

My question is this: why is this so onerous?

In Texas, you can even order your birth certificate on-line.

I know the arguments against identification: poor people don't have computers or credit cards. They don't have driver's licenses or other I.D. They can't take off time from work to get the birth certificates.

Yes, it's terrible that to receive government funds one has to go through some personal trouble. But the point of needing documentation is so we know who is getting Medicaid and whether or not the people involved are eligible. A certified copy of one's birth certificate is 22 bucks in Texas. Is the argument that people can't find $22? Is this like the woman whose kid died because she didn't have $80 for a tooth extraction?

I'm sorry some people aren't receiving Medicaid who should be eligible for it. But like most things in life, you have to be able to prove you are who you say you are and that you are, indeed, eligible for the benefit you want to receive. This isn't callousness. It's the only way to keep the system from being defrauded.