U.S. Government

A proposed class action lawsuit alleges that a federal law requiring proof of citizenship in exchange for benefits under the government's Medicaid health insurance program for the poor violates the Fifth Amendment. By arbitrarily requiring documents and imposing deadlines, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services violated the Amendment's due-process guarantee. Antipoverty groups claim the proposed law will hurt low-income citizens and others who may be unable to provide original documents such as birth certificates. Other citizens likely to be affected are those in nursing homes, people with mental and physical disabilities, and victims of natural disasters.