The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has released a set of Questions and Answers for State Medicaid Agencies regarding the Haitian earthquake crisis. The set of Question and Answers provided are exclusively applicable to Haitian nationals who are arriving in the United States from Haiti as a result of the recent earthquake and subsequent humanitarian disaster. These Q&As provide information particularly about the eligibility of Haitian nationals for Medicaid program.

For complete information, please click: Q & As for State Medicaid Agencies

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) have released a Q&A on 2009 Update to the Tuberculosis (TB) Screening Required for Adjustment of Status. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had recently updated the TB Component of the Technical Instructions for the Medical Examination of Aliens in the United States. Anticipating the change, USCIS made necessary amendments to Form I-693, Report of Medical Examination and Vaccination Record.

The screening for TB is a part of medical examination. The civil surgeon screens the applicant for conditions that render an applicant inadmissible to the United States. These conditions include other communicable diseases of public health significance, as defined in the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) regulations; mental and physical disorders with associated harmful behaviors; and drug abuse or drug addiction. The civil surgeon also assesses whether the individual has received vaccinations against vaccine preventable diseases, and administers appropriate vaccines, as required by HHS.

This update will be effective and applies to the completion of any medical assessment made on or after Nov. 1, 2009.

For full information, please click: USCIS’ 2009 Update on Tuberculosis for AOS