More than half of the Medicaid population in opioid treatment programs (OTPs) in Rhode Island attend treatment at CODAC Behavioral Health Care, said president and CEO Linda Hurley. “So we’re very vulnerable.”
In the last year, CODAC hasn’t seen one person coming to care who is undocumented, said Hurley. The reason is not because undocumented immigrants don’t need treatment. “It’s because they’re afraid,” said Hurley. That’s not an assumption. "We work closely with entities that work with undocumented people,” she said. “People are afraid to bring their children to doctor appointments they need to go back to school.” They’re afraid to go to school, too. Ever since President Trump rescinded the Biden rule that churches, schools, and hospitals are not safe sanctuaries, everyone, not just the undocumented, has been afraid, she said.
Patients with established citizenship may have a relative who is living with them. “It’s a zeitgeist of anxiety everywhere,” said Hurley.“ Everyone is frightened.” CODAC hasn’t had a drop in census because there are so many patients who need treatment, but the waiting list isn’t growing, either. “Everything has gone static,” said Hurley.
But Rhode Island is prepared, just in case. There are two options: “If you come to treatment and you’re not documented, we have navigators who can help, so that your status is legal,” said Hurley. Or, there is a fund, not federal funds, out of which Rhode Island pays the OTP to see people who aren’t documented. But the fact is that nobody really knows how many patients are missing out on treatment because they are undocumented. There are no numbers, for example, of patients in emergency departments who are undocumented, said Hurley. “Everything is in the dark,” she said. “Honestly, I think that was the overall plan.”
“People are afraid to bring their children to doctor appointments they need to go back to school.”
