ATHENS, Ga. - Some Hispanic children eligible for Medicaid benefits aren't getting the medical care they need because of a change in the way the state verifies their parents' income, say health care providers and advocates for Hispanics.

The change is creating a kind of Catch-22 situation for children born to noncitizen parents in the United States. Born here, the children are citizens and unlike their parents are eligible for benefits such as Medicaid, a federal-state program that provides health care for some low-income people.

But tougher rules on how parents must prove they are actually poor are knocking eligible children off the Medicaid roles, said Sister Margarita Martin of Oasis Catolico, a mission in Athens' Pinewoods Mobile Home Park. The park has a large Hispanic population.

The new rule requires applicants for the Medicaid program for families to show a document such as a W-2-form, pay stubs or income tax returns to be eligible. A letter from an employer stating income is also acceptable.

The move was to reduce "fraud and abuse," Gov. Sonny Perdue said when he ordered the change. Before Mr. Perdue's decree, parents were simply required to declare what their income was on an application form. About 2 percent or 3 percent of those applications had false statements about income or other eligibility criteria, according to the state.

But the unintended consequence has been children being denied medical care, said Sister Margarita.

For Sister Margarita, it's a moral issue that goes beyond the rights of citizens.

"Besides the social injustice of taking away the rights of Americans, they are human beings and our brothers and sisters," she said.

Pediatrician Diane Dunston said she's seen the same thing Sister Margarita is seeing at Dr. Dunston's practice at the Athens Neighborhood Health Center, a medical clinic near downtown Athens which provides care to many low-income patients.

"Many of the families are very afraid and confused," Dr. Dunston said.

Dr. Dunston said the change may be designed to save taxpayer money, but it's going to end up costing more in the long run.

"They end up not getting preventive care and waiting until the person gets very sick," Dr. Dunston said.

That means, finally, a trip to a hospital emergency room, where care is much more costly than preventive care at a doctor's office or clinic.