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By Jessica Van Sack
Saturday, October 2, 2010 - Updated 6 minutes ago
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Jessica Van Sack is an award-winning journalist and the Herald's chief enterprise reporter. A graduate of Boston University, she interned in broadcast news in Europe and covered South Shore towns before joining the Herald. She works out of the State House where you can send tips to jvansack@bostonherald.com.

Facing an uphill re-election battle in exactly one month, Gov. Deval Patrick is refusing to say how many illegal immigrants are receiving health insurance, ignoring Herald requests since early September.

“It’s no wonder he doesn’t want to tell taxpayers how much of their money is paying for illegal immigrants’ health care,” said GOP rival Charlie Baker yesterday. “Gov. Patrick has spent the past four years looking for ways to give illegal immigrants in-state tuition and drivers’ licenses, and now he refuses to sign on to a program that would take dangerous criminals who are illegal off the streets.”

On Sept. 10, the Herald requested a schedule of benefits for illegal immigrants enrolled in MassHealth Limited as well as coverage information for legal non-citizens.

According to the nonprofit MassResources.org, non-citizens ages 18-64 who do not meet the eligibility requirements for MassHealth but qualify for the Massachusetts Refugee Resettlement Program have access for eight months to MassHealth Standard - a more comprehensive plan than some legal immigrants receive.

A spokeswoman for the Executive Office of Health and Human Services failed to return calls regarding the information request for the last two weeks. The state legally has 10 days to respond, a period that lapsed on Sept. 20.

After learning the Herald would report on the state’s failure to respond, the administration released a general description of some benefits illegal immigrants are eligible for late yesterday afternoon.

Patrick has been under fire for refusing statewide implementataion of a federal program that shares fingerprints of illegal immigrants who are arrested for other crimes with Immigrations and Customs Enforcement. Hub cops have hailed it as a success.

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