A new legislative push in Washington could soon change who is eligible for taxpayer-funded healthcare assistance. On Monday, U.S. Representative Greg Steube, a Republican from Florida, officially introduced H.R. 11, formally titled the Criminals’ Loss of Eligibility and Assistance Networks Act—or the CLEAN Act.
The proposal focuses on a specific group of convicts, seeking to permanently bar registered sex offenders from accessing federal subsidies and insurance programs.
If passed, the CLEAN Act would hit two major pillars of the American healthcare system. First, it would amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to ensure that any individual classified as a sex offender under the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act cannot claim the refundable tax credits used to lower the cost of health insurance under the Affordable Care Act.
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Essentially, this means those on the registry would have to pay full price for private plans rather than receiving government help. Second, the bill targets Medicaid. By amending the Social Security Act, the legislation would strip sex offenders of eligibility for federally funded medical assistance and give individual states the green light to deny them coverage entirely.
“Sex offenders have no business tapping into programs intended for lower-income and disadvantaged Americans,” said Rep. Steube. “Taxpayers have the right to know their hard-earned money is not being used to cover the medical expenses of serial abusers and criminals. Rapists and abusers have no business receiving federal benefits. My bill will protect Medicaid and ACA assistance for law-abiding Americans by barring sex offenders from accessing these programs.”
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From a technical standpoint, the bill defines a sex offender based on existing federal standards established in 2006. The restrictions would apply to the individuals themselves and, in the case of tax credits, would also affect joint filings if a spouse is on the registry.
The legislation has been referred to the House Committee for further review. While the bill’s supporters see it as a common-sense reform to protect the integrity of the safety net, it remains to be seen how the proposal will fare as it moves through the legislative process and whether it will face hurdles regarding the universal right to healthcare access.
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