Court Opinion

ID: 9782771
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-30 19:14:20.937495+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:35:11.419338
License: Public Domain

Spina, J.
This case involves four questions reserved and reported from the county court relating to the standard of review applicable to a statute that excludes aliens lawfully residing in the Commonwealth from participating in a public benefit program for which the Commonwealth receives certain Federal reimbursements. Commonwealth Care Health Insurance Program (Commonwealth Care) is a premium assistance program in which enrollees pay a portion of their health insurance premium based on a sliding scale with the remainder paid by the defendant Commonwealth Health Insurance Connector Authority (Connector). The plaintiffs are Massachusetts residents who either have been terminated from Commonwealth Care or denied eligibility solely as a result of their alienage. Specifically, the plaintiffs have brought a class action against the Connector alleging that exclusion from Commonwealth Care pursuant to an appropriation, St. 2009, c. 65, § 31 (a), violates their rights under the Massachusetts Constitution. The statute eliminates the plaintiffs’ eligibility for Commonwealth Care by adopting the same eligibility standards applicable to federally funded public benefit programs as set forth in the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA), Pub. *657L. No. 104-193, as amended, codified at 8 U.S.C. §§ 1601-1646 (2006).
On the basis of stipulated facts and pursuant to Mass. R. Civ. R 64 (a), as amended, 423 Mass. 1410 (1996), a single justice of this court reserved and reported four questions:
“1. Does the protection against discrimination on the basis of ‘national origin,’ as enumerated in art. 106 of the Amendments to the Massachusetts Constitution, include protection against discrimination on the basis of alienage, i.e., one’s immigration status?
“2. If the answer to question one is negative, does any other provision of the Massachusetts Constitution provide special protection against discrimination on the basis of alienage beyond the general contours of equal protection?
“3. If the answers to question one and to question two are negative, should a State classification based on alienage be subjected to a ‘rational basis’ standard of review under the Massachusetts Constitution to determine whether there is a rational relationship between the disparity of treatment between citizens and aliens and some legitimate governmental purpose?
“4. If the answer to either question one or to question two is affirmative, what level of judicial scrutiny should be applied to the classification contained in § 31 (a), especially in light of the character of the Commonwealth Care program and the nature of its funding mechanisms?”
We answer the first three questions in the negative and need not reach Question 4.
Facts. The following facts are taken from the stipulation of the parties accompanying the reserved and reported questions.
Commonwealth Care is a key feature of the Commonwealth’s initiative to help all Massachusetts residents obtain and maintain health insurance coverage, as set forth in St. 2006, c. 58. Portions of that statute, codified at G. L. c. 118H, establish Commonwealth Care with the declared purpose of “reducing uninsurance in the commonwealth.” G. L. c. 118H, § 2. Commonwealth Care seeks to achieve this purpose by providing a *658structured premium assistance program under which enrollees pay a portion of premium for health insurance coverage with the remainder paid by the Connector. See G. L. c. 118H. Commonwealth Care enrollees are eligible for three plan types based on income levels ranging from one hundred per cent to 300 per cent of the Federal poverty level. Total enrollment in Commonwealth Care as of June, 2010, was 160,318 and the Connector paid one hundred per cent of premium for 93,778 of those enrollees. Commonwealth Care premium assistance payments totaled $717 million in fiscal year 2010.
The original eligibility requirements for Commonwealth Care were set forth in G. L. c. 118H, § 3 (a), which provides that an individual may enroll if he or she has been a resident of the Commonwealth for six months, has household income below 300 per cent of the Federal poverty level, is uninsured, and is not eligible for certain other State, Federal, or employer-subsidized health insurance programs. “Resident,” for purposes of G. L. c. 118H, is defined, in part, as “a person living in the commonwealth . . . including a qualified alien . . . or a person who is not a citizen of the United States but who is otherwise permanently residing in the United States under color of law; provided, however, that the person has not moved into the commonwealth for the sole purpose of securing health insurance under this chapter.”3 G. L. c. 118H, § 1. Under the terms of its enabling act, therefore, Commonwealth Care is open to participation by lawful resident aliens, approximately 29,000 of whom were enrolled in the program as of August, 2009.
Both State and Federal funds support the provision of premium *659assistance payments on behalf of Commonwealth Care enrollees. Payments from State funds are made through the Commonwealth Care Trust Fund, established by G. L. c. 29, § 2000. This trust fund is credited with monies from a variety of sources including employer contributions (payable regardless of the immigration status of the employee), revenue from “free rider” surcharges, transfers from the Health Safety Net Trust Fund, revenue from “individual mandate” penalties, and a portion of cigarette tax revenues. The revenues earmarked for the trust fund have not heretofore covered the cost of Commonwealth Care so annual appropriations have been required from the Commonwealth’s General Fund. See St. 2010, c. 131, line item 1595-5819 (2011 appropriation of $702 million); St. 2009, c. 27, § 119 (b) (2010 appropriation of $592 million).
Federal funds are provided through a Medicaid “demonstration project” pursuant to § 1115 of the Social Security Act, codified at 42 U.S.C. § 1315 (2006). In the demonstration project, Commonwealth Care expenditures made on behalf of federally eligible individuals are treated as expenditures under the Commonwealth’s Medicaid plan and receive partial reimbursement from the United States. The reimbursement rate for federally eligible individuals is approximately fifty per cent of total expenditures but, pursuant to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, was increased to 61.59 per cent in fiscal year 2010. Commonwealth Care receives no reimbursement from the Federal government in respect of expenditures made on behalf of federally ineligible individuals. Federal reimbursements for fiscal year 2010 were $419.6 million.
The Commonwealth initially permitted all residents, as defined in G. L. c. 118H, § 3, to enroll in Commonwealth Care whether federally eligible or not. In the absence of Federal reimbursement, the Commonwealth assumed one hundred per cent of the cost of providing Commonwealth Care subsidies to federally ineligible aliens. Due to the level of Federal reimbursement, at least two federally eligible residents (citizens or federally eligible aliens) could be enrolled in Commonwealth Care for the same cost to the State as one member of the plaintiff class. In 2009, the Legislature made certain changes to the eligibility requirements of Commonwealth Care in a supplemental appro*660priation for fiscal year 2010, St. 2009, c. 65. Specifically, § 31 of that act (hereinafter, § 31) provides that:
“(a) Except as provided in subsection (b), notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, an eligible individual pursuant to section 3 of chapter 118H of the General Laws shall not include persons who cannot receive federally-funded benefits under [§§] 401, 402, and 403 of [PRWORA].
“(b) Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the secretary of administration and finance, the secretary of health and human services and the executive director of the [Connector] . . . may establish or designate a health insurance plan in which a person who cannot receive federally-funded benefits [under PRWORA] may enroll effective September 1, 2009 .... Total state costs of providing coverage to all such persons . . . shall not exceed $40,000,000 for fiscal year 2010.”
As a result of § 31 (a), aliens who are federally ineligible under PRWORA are excluded from participation in Commonwealth Care.4 Simultaneously, § 31 (b) permitted the establishment of a new entity, the Commonwealth Care Bridge program (Commonwealth Bridge), which provides a form of health insurance continuation to individuals previously covered by Commonwealth Care but who lost eligibility as a result of § 31 (a).5
Commonwealth Bridge operates under a fixed appropriation *661and, like § 31 (a), will terminate if not renewed each fiscal year. Funding for the program is subject to increase depending on the availability of enhanced Federal Medicaid reimbursements under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act or a similar provision. Whether participating in Commonwealth Care or Commonwealth Bridge, or receiving no subsidy at all, residents of the Commonwealth over age eighteen remain subject to the requirement that they “obtain and maintain creditable [health insurance] coverage so long as it is deemed affordable under the schedule set by the [Connector].” G. L. c. 111M, § 2 (a). The parties agree that, as a practical matter due to their income level, members of the plaintiff class would not be subject to the penalty.
On February 25, 2010, the plaintiffs filed an action in the county court alleging violation of their rights under both Federal law and the United States and Massachusetts Constitutions. The Connector removed the case to Federal District Court pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1441(b) (2006) as raising Federal questions. The plaintiffs then filed an amended complaint that mounts a facial challenge to § 31 under the Massachusetts Constitution, omits Federal law claims, and alleges discrimination “based solely on [the plaintiffs’] national origin.” The plaintiffs moved for and were granted remand of the case to the county court. On remand the plaintiffs requested that the entire case be reserved and reported to this court, but the single justice instead determined to reserve and report the four questions set forth above. The Commonwealth was allowed to intervene and present argument as a defendant. 6
I
Question 1: Does the protection against discrimination on the basis of “national origin,” as enumerated in art. 106 of the *662Amendments to the Massachusetts Constitution, include protection against discrimination on the basis of alienage, i.e., one’s immigration status?
Article 106 was adopted in 1976 and annulled art. 1 of the Massachusetts Declaration of Rights, inserting in its place the following declaration:
“All people are born free and equal and have certain natural, essential and unalienable rights; among which may be reckoned the right of enjoying and defending their lives and liberties; that of acquiring, possessing and protecting property; in fine, that of seeking and obtaining their safety and happiness. Equality under the law shall not be denied or abridged because of sex, race, color, creed or national origin.”
This court traditionally has located a right to equal protection under art. 1 and, thus, under its successor art. 106. See, e.g., Commonwealth v. Weston W., 455 Mass. 24, 30 n.8 (2009) (equal protection under art. 1); Commonwealth v. Franklin Fruit Co., 388 Mass. 228, 229-230 (1983) (equal protection under arts. 1 and 10 of Massachusetts Declaration of Rights); Connor v. Metropolitan Dist. Water Supply Comm’n, 314 Mass. 33, 37-38 (1943) (equal protection under arts. 1, 6, 7, and 10 of Massachusetts Declaration of Rights). Because we address the broader question of equal protection in answer to reported Question 3, we consider Question 1 as requiring consideration only of the final sentence of art. 106.
We previously have held that “[t]he classifications set forth in art. 106 [sex, race, color, creed, or national origin] ... are subjected to the strictest judicial scrutiny.” Commonwealth v. King, 374 Mass. 5, 21 (1977) (King). Effectively, art. 106 removes the first step — determination whether a classification is suspect — from equal protection analysis and mandates strict scrutiny of the enumerated classifications. Id. Because art. 106 acts to channel the discretion of the courts with respect to the enumerated classes, the policy considerations that ordinarily illuminate equal protection analysis are not relevant to interpretation of art. 106. If a class is not addressed by art. 106 it does not follow that strict scrutiny is inappropriate but merely that *663there is no express constitutional mandate that such scrutiny be applied.
Alienage is obviously not among the specifically enumerated classifications of art. 106. The plaintiffs argue with emphasis, however, that because “all aliens, without exception, have a national origin outside of the United States,” discrimination on the basis of alienage is necessarily discrimination on the basis of national origin.7 This argument fails because its general premise, that aliens may not trace their national origins to the United States, is incorrect.
“The term ‘national origin’ on its face refers to the country where a person was born or, more broadly, the country from which his or her ancestors came.”8 Espinoza v. Farah Mfg. Co., 414 U.S. 86, 88 (1973) (Espinoza). In contrast, an alien is “a person who was born outside the jurisdiction of the United States, who is subject to some foreign government, and who has not been naturalized under U.S. law.” Black’s Law Dictionary 84 (9th ed. 2009). Cf. Black’s Law Dictionary 95 (rev. 4th ed. 1968) (defining “alien” as “[a] foreigner; one bom abroad,” “a person who owes allegiance to a foreign government,” and “[i]n this country, a person born outside of the United States and unnaturalized under our Constitution and laws”). The mere fact that the United States is a nation with a rich history of immigration does not mean that the United States lacks emigrants *664and the attendant possibility that aliens will have familial and cultural roots in the United States.9 See 8 U.S.C. §§ 1401(g), 1409, 1433 (2006) (circumstances in which foreign-bom child of United States national also may be citizen of United States or receive expedited naturalization).
In addition, an individual may cease to be an alien as a result of naturalization while retaining his or her national origin. See 8 U.S.C. §§ 1421-1458 (2006). Conversely, an American citizen, who may have national origins both in the United States and elsewhere, may lose his or her citizenship while retaining those national origins. 8 U.S.C. § 1481(a) (2006). Classification on the basis of alienage is not, therefore, a mere subset of classification on the basis of national origin, and discrimination against aliens is not inherently and necessarily discrimination against persons with national origins outside the United States. Espinoza, supra at 88 n.2 (finding “a general understanding that the term ‘national origin’ does not embrace a requirement of United States citizenship”). The plaintiffs make no other substantive arguments regarding art. 106.10
*665The single justice, however, did not inquire as to the identity of “alienage” and “national origin” but rather as to the protections provided by art. 106. Full constitutional analysis is therefore required. “In determining the meaning of a constitutional provision, we look to the language and structure of the provision, so that it is ‘construed so as to accomplish a reasonable result and to achieve its dominating purpose.’ ” McDuffy v. Secretary of the Executive Office of Educ., 415 Mass. 545, 558 (1993) (McDuffy), quoting Lincoln v. Secretary of the Commonwealth, 326 Mass. 313, 317 (1950). We bear in mind that the Constitution “was written to be understood by the voters to whom it was submitted for approval” and that “[i]t is to be interpreted in the sense most obvious to the common intelligence. Its phrases are to be read and construed according to the familiar and approved usage of the language.” Buckley v. Secretary of the Commonwealth, 371 Mass. 195, 199 (1976). “Our point of departure is the plain wording of art. [106] itself, which we construe ‘in the light of the conditions under which it was framed, the ends designed to be accomplished, the benefits expected to be conferred, and the evils hoped to be remedied.’ ” Carney v. Attorney Gen., 447 Mass. 218, 224 (2006), quoting Loring v. Young, 239 Mass. 349, 372 (1921).
Article 106 differs from art. 1 in two ways: (i) by changing the second word (“men”) from the masculine to the gender neutral (“people”); and (ii) by inserting the final sentence that guarantees equality under the law regardless of sex, race, color, creed, or national origin. Prior to the adoption of art. 106 the Federal Constitution had been interpreted to require strict scrutiny of racial, ethnic, religious, and alienage based discrimination. King, supra, citing Wisconsin v. Yoder, 406 U.S. 205 (1972) (religious distinctions); Graham v. Richardson, 403 U.S. 365 (1971) (Graham) (alienage); Loving v. Virginia, 388 U.S. 1 (1967) (race); Oyama v. California, 332 U.S. 633 (1948) (national origin). In 1976, however, gender had not been recognized as an inherently suspect classification requiring strict scrutiny. See Stanton v. Stanton, 421 U.S. 7, 13 (1975) (“We find it unnecessary in this case to decide whether a classification based on sex is inherently suspect”). Cf. Nevada Dep’t of Human Resources v. Hibbs, 538 U.S. 721, 730 (2003) (“measures that differentiate *666on the basis of gender warrant heightened [as opposed to strict] scrutiny”). The language and structure of art. 106, as well as the conditions in which it was framed, therefore indicate that the dominating purpose of art. 106 was to express “that the people of Massachusetts view sex discrimination with the same vigorous disapproval as they view racial, ethnic, and religious discrimination.” King, supra. See McDuffy, supra. Accordingly, this court, in King, supra, interpreted art. 106 as requiring strict scrutiny of gender classifications.
Looking beyond its dominating purpose, the structure, plain wording, and conditions in which art. 106 was framed do not suggest that it was intended to address alienage classifications. See Carney v. Attorney Gen., supra at 224; McDuffy, supra. Article 106 lists a number of classifications recognized as suspect in 1976 but omits mention of alienage classifications although, at the time, they were similarly recognized in equal protection jurisprudence. See Graham, supra (alienage is suspect classification for equal protection purposes); post at 691-692 (Duffly, L, concurring in part and dissenting in part) (citing cases regarding national origin and alienage). As discussed above, “national origin” and “alienage” are distinct categories separated by the concept of citizenship, which is not an obscure, hollow, or narrowly technical notion, but rather one with deep roots in this nation’s tradition and heritage. See Mathews v. Diaz, 426 U.S. 67, 78 (1976) (“a host of constitutional and statutory provisions rest on the premise that a legitimate distinction between citizens and aliens may justify attributes and benefits for one class not accorded to the other”). It would twist the “familiar and approved usage of the language,” Buckley v. Secretary of the Commonwealth, 371 Mass. 195, 199 (1976), to treat the words as having identical meanings and to hold that both words were intended when only one was used. See Espinoza, supra at 94-95 (refusing to defer to EEOC guideline that conflated terms because “there are ‘compelling indications that it is wrong’ ”).
We also note that the very adoption of art. 106 displays a sophisticated public understanding of the development of equal protection jurisprudence as of 1976. At the time of its enactment, art. 106 was popularly known as the “Equal Rights Amendment” — a soubriquet baldly stating that, as interpreted by the *667court prior to 1976, certain rights were not theretofore equally respected under the Massachusetts Constitution. By enacting art. 106, the voters demonstrated their awareness that different classifications are subject to varying levels of judicial review and their conclusion that rational basis review was not adequately addressing the problem of gender discrimination. The voters thus acted with respect to gender classifications and reaffirmed prior jurisprudence with regard to race, color, creed, and national origin classifications. See art. 106. The voters did not act with respect to alienage classifications though alienage equal protection jurisprudence had developed by 1976 and its distinction from national origin discrimination was recognized.11 See Graham, supra (alienage); Oyama v. California, 332 U.S. 633 (1948) (national origin). The voters chose to include only national origin classifications in art. 106 and we will not assume that the omission of alienage classifications was driven by ignorance or mistake rather than conscious choice. Accordingly, we answer the first reported question in the negative.
II
Question 2: If the answer to Question 1 is negative, does any other provision of the Massachusetts Constitution provide special protection against discrimination on the basis of alienage beyond the general contours of equal protection?
Equal protection of the laws is a concept that permeates the Massachusetts Constitution. The broadest statement of equal *668protection is contained in arts. 1 and 106, which state that “[a]ll [people] are bom free and equal and have certain natural, essential, and unalienable rights . . . .” Similar guarantees of equal protection are also found in art. 6 (“No man, nor corporation, or association of men, have any other title to obtain advantages, or particular and exclusive privileges, distinct from those of the community . . .”), art. 7 (“Government is instituted for the common good; for the protection, safety, prosperity, and happiness of the people; and not for the profit, honor, or private interest of any one man, family or class of men . . .”), and art. 10 (“Each individual of the society has a right to be protected by it in the enjoyment of his life, liberty and property, according to standing laws”). The plaintiffs do not argue that any other provision of the Massachusetts Constitution provides special protection against discrimination on the basis of alien-age beyond the general contours of equal protection. Accordingly any such claim has been waived, and we need not answer Question 2. For the sole purpose of addressing Question 3, which we understand as requesting guidance if the answers to Questions 1 and 2 are not in the affirmative, we treat this result as an answer in the negative.
in
Question 3: If the answers to Question 1 and to Question 2 are negative, should a State classification based on alienage be subjected to a “rational basis” standard of review under the Massachusetts Constitution to determine whether there is a rational relationship between the disparity of treatment between citizens and aliens and some legitimate governmental purpose?12
Where a statute either burdens the exercise of a fundamental right protected by our State Constitution, or discriminates on *669the basis of a suspect classification, the statute is subject to strict judicial scrutiny. See Blixt v. Blixt, 437 Mass. 649, 655-656 (2002), cert, denied, 537 U.S. 1189 (2003) (fundamental right); Lowell v. Kowalski, 380 Mass. 663, 666 (1980) (suspect classification). See also Goodridge v. Department of Pub. Health, 440 Mass. 309, 330 (2003). All other statutes, which neither burden a fundamental right nor discriminate on the basis of a suspect classification, are subject to a rational basis level of judicial scrutiny. See id.; English v. New England Med. Ctr., Inc., 405 Mass. 423, 428 (1989), cert, denied, 493 U.S. 1056 (1990). For equal protection purposes, “[t]he rational basis test ‘includes a requirement that an impartial lawmaker could logically believe that the classification would serve a legitimate public purpose that transcends the harm to the members of the disadvantaged class.’ ” Id. at 429, quoting Cleburne v. Cleburne Living Ctr., Inc., 473 U.S. 432, 452 (1985) (Stevens, J., concurring). In contrast, “[t]o pass the strict scrutiny standard, [a State action] must be narrowly tailored to further a legitimate and compelling governmental interest and must be the least restrictive means available to vindicate that interest.” Commonwealth v. Weston W., 455 Mass. 24, 35 (2009).
The plaintiffs assert that aliens are a “discrete and insular” minority such that classification on the basis of alienage is suspect and State action discriminating against them must be subject to strict scrutiny.13 The Connector and the Commonwealth argue that rational basis scrutiny is appropriate either because of the nature of the Commonwealth Care program or because § 31 adopts Federal classifications. We begin our analysis by reviewing our decision most nearly on point, Doe v. Commissioner of Transitional Assistance, 437 Mass. 521 (2002) (Doe).
In Doe, we considered a similar equal protection claim where the Commonwealth excluded federally ineligible aliens from a jointly funded program and established a parallel State program *670with a different durational residency requirement.14 Id. at 522-523, 527. St. 1997, c. 43, § 210 (a)-(c). In determining the appropriate level of review, we noted that “[i]t is the general rule that State laws that discriminate against legal immigrants in the distribution of economic benefits are subject to strict scrutiny.” Id. at 525-526. See Graham, supra at 375-376. Commonwealth Care is an economic benefit and § 31 may discriminate against aliens so strict scrutiny is presumptively applicable unless some exception applies.
We found such an exception in Doe, where we acknowledged congressional authority to “establish uniform national guidelines and policies dictating how States are to regulate and legislate issues relating to aliens.”15 Doe, supra at 526. In light of this authority, we then held that the “general rule does not apply ... to State laws that merely adopt uniform Federal guidelines regarding the eligibility of aliens for benefits.” Id. We thus concluded that “it would make no sense to say that Congress has plenary power to legislate national immigration policies and guidelines subject to a deferential (rational basis) standard of review, and then to hold that the equal protection clause of the *671Constitution restrains States from adhering to or adopting those national policies and guidelines because their actions are subject to a higher (strict scrutiny) standard of review.” Id. at 526-527. In reaching our conclusion in Doe, however, we did not bridge the analytical gap between congressional action “dictating how States are to regulate and legislate issues relating to aliens” and the State’s responsibilities where Congress enacts a noncompulsory rule and the Commonwealth voluntarily “adopt[s] those national policies and guidelines.” Id. at 526, 527. Neither we, nor Justice Gants, are able to do so here.16
It is undisputed that Congress enjoys the authority to discriminate on the basis of alienage, which authority, as demonstrated by PRWORA, largely permits it to abdicate the responsibility to provide aliens with equal protection of the laws.17 See Mathews v. Diaz, 426 U.S. 67, 79-80 (1976). It is similarly *672undisputed that the General Court does not enjoy any analogous power. See Graham, supra at 372. Thus, the standard of review applicable to a statute depends on which government’s actions are under review. Where the Federal government has made a binding decision regarding the treatment of aliens, that decision will be reviewed according to the standards applicable to the Federal government even though the immediate actor may be a State government. Mathews v. Diaz, supra. In comparison, where the State acts on its own authority, it cannot shelter behind the existence of Congress’s plenary authority, and its actions are subject to strict scrutiny review. Graham, supra. It is irrelevant that the same result could have been imposed on the State by the Federal government pursuant to the supremacy clause. See Shapiro v. Thompson, 394 U.S. 618, 641 (1969) (although possessing plenary authority over immigration and naturalization, “Congress may not authorize the States to violate the Equal Protection Clause”); Barannikova v. Greenwich, 229 Conn. 664, 683 (1994) (“The fact that a state may act within a given realm provided it does not conflict with federal [alienage] legislation, does not also imply that when so acting it may make invidious distinctions without regard to the constitutional equal protection guarantee”).
Here, no party has argued that the Commonwealth was required to apply PRWORA’s eligibility classification to Commonwealth Care. Indeed, for three years after Massachusetts established the program, Commonwealth Care provided benefits to qualified aliens without any suggestion that such benefits were in violation of or inconsistent with PRWORA. This was permissible because PRWORA declares that, so long as no Federal funds *673contribute to such benefits, Congress is indifferent to the use of State funds in providing public benefits to aliens qualified to reside in the Commonwealth but ineligible for Federal benefits. Specifically, “a State is authorized to determine the eligibility for any State public benefits of an alien who is a qualified alien” (8 U.S.C. § 1622); “a State is authorized to prohibit or otherwise limit or restrict the eligibility of aliens or classes of aliens for programs of general cash public assistance furnished under the law of the State” (8 U.S.C. § 1624); and “[a] State may provide that an alien who is not lawfully present in the United States is eligible for any State or local public benefit” if the State “affirmatively provides for such eligibility” subsequent to the enactment of PRWORA (8 U.S.C. § 1621[d]).18
Indeed, far from considering PRWORA to be a mandate to the States, in the statute’s “statements of national policy” Congress seeks to tip the scales of equal protection analysis where “a State . . . chooses to follow the Federal classification in determining the eligibility of [federally ineligible] aliens for public assistance” (emphasis added). 8 U.S.C. § 1601(7). PRWORA, therefore, does not require that States apply Federal *674eligibility requirements but instead merely declares that Federal policy will not be thwarted if States decide to discriminate against qualified aliens. See 8 U.S.C. §§ 1622, 1624; post at 688-689 (Gants, J., concurring in part and dissenting in part).
In the context of Commonwealth Care, PRWORA is thus a statement by Congress that the Federal government will be subsidizing the State’s provision of benefits to some residents (citizens and eligible aliens) but not to others (federally ineligible aliens). This is a financial impediment to State action but not a mandate under the supremacy clause that might require the application of rational basis review.19 Where the State is left with a range of options including discriminatory and nondiscriminatory policies, its selection amongst those options must be reviewed under the standards applicable to the State and not those applicable to Congress. Settled equal protection law therefore requires that § 31 (a) be reviewed under strict scrutiny. See Commonwealth v. Acen, 396 Mass. 472, 481 (1986).
The Connector requests that we revisit this general rule and instead apply the same rational basis review appropriate when aliens are excluded from political functions (see Bernal v. Fainter, 467 U.S. 216, 220 [1984]) to every alienage classification. Aliens, standing by definition outside the body politic and yet subject to its laws, are a prototypical example of the “ ‘discrete *675and insular’ minority.”20 See Graham, supra at 372, 375-376. In light of their particularly vulnerable status, it thus remains necessary to exercise heightened vigilance to ensure that the full panoply of constitutional protections are afforded to the Commonwealth’s resident aliens. We therefore decline to overturn the general mle applying strict scrutiny. See Doe, supra at 525-526; Commonwealth v. Acen, supra.
In reaching this conclusion we disagree with Justice Gants on a number of fundamental points. First, while we are acutely aware of the financial difficulties presently facing the Commonwealth, the fiscal consequences of any subsequent judgment on the merits cannot be permitted to intrude on consideration of the case before us. See post at 688. “[Minorities rely on the independence of the courts to secure their constitutional rights against incursions of the majority, operating through the political branches of government.” Commonwealth v. O’Neal, 369 Mass. 242, 271 (1975) (Tauro, C.J., concurring). If the political branches have violated the plaintiffs’ right to equal protection of the laws by enacting § 31, then it may be our duty to say so in a future case, and it is not for us to consider now whether fiscal consequences favor tipping the standard of review toward one party or another. See art. 29 of the Declaration of Rights. The State was not required to establish the Commonwealth Care program, is under no obligation to continue it, and may expend as much or as little on the program as it wishes so long as benefits are distributed in a constitutionally acceptable manner. Our decision regarding the standard of review therefore has no binding effect on the Commonwealth’s budget, and even if it *676did, we would be precluded from considering that result in answering the reported question.
Second, we do not agree with Justice Gants’s view that the scale of the inequality imposed by an invidious classification is relevant in considering the appropriate standard of review. See post at 680 (“strict scrutiny is the appropriate standard of review . . . only where the State’s per capita expenditures for the plaintiff aliens are substantially less than ... for similarly situated Commonwealth Care participants”). The point of the equal protection guarantee is not to ensure that facially discriminatory laws yield roughly equivalent outcomes or that, in singling out disadvantaged classes, the State subjects them to only mild inequality. Rather, the right to equal protection recognizes that the act of classification is itself invidious and is thus constitutionally acceptable only where it meets an exacting test. Whether §31 results in a sharp reduction in benefits to some or all members of the plaintiff class therefore is irrelevant to the standard of review that is applicable.
Finally, we disagree with Justice Gants’s position that strict scrutiny is unnecessary because “the Commonwealth [has not] use[d] the denial of Federal Medicaid funds [under PRWORA] as an excuse to put aliens in a worse position than they would have been had no Federal funding been available.” Post at 689. As discussed in note 5, supra, qualified aliens residing in the Commonwealth who were not enrolled in Commonwealth Care prior to August 31, 2009, are not eligible to participate in either Commonwealth Care or Commonwealth Bridge. § 31 (b). Thus, a resident alien who failed to enroll before August 31, 2009, who moved to the Commonwealth after that date, or who became impoverished after that date will receive no health insurance premium assistance whatsoever. Id. This is a “worse position than they would have been had no Federal funding been available.” Post at 689. This is precisely the situation in which Justice Gants states that strict scrutiny should apply.
Having addressed the question of alienage classification, we address the possibility that § 31 discriminates against the plaintiff class on the basis of national origin. As discussed above, alien-age and national origin are not synonymous, and if a classification is based on national origin, the Declaration of Rights re*677quires that strict scrutiny apply. Doe, supra at 533 (“If [the] classification [between aliens] were a suspect one such as race, gender, or national origin [rather than duration of residency], we would apply a strict scrutiny analysis”). See King, supra at 21. We must, therefore, consider the nature of the PRWORA classifications that § 31 imports into Massachusetts law.
PRWORA does not extend Federal benefits to citizens while prohibiting all aliens from receiving similar assistance. Instead, PRWORA provides Federal benefits to “eligible” aliens and denies them to “ineligible” aliens. See 8 U.S.C. §§ 1611-1613. The class of federally “eligible” aliens includes those aliens meeting certain race, gender, national origin, and religion-neutral criteria such as being refugees, victims of domestic violence, veterans, or victims of severe forms of human trafficking. 8 U.S.C. §§ 1612, 1641. However, the category of “eligible” aliens also includes certain Cubans, Haitians, Amerasians, Native Americans who were bom in Canada,21 Filipino veterans, Hmong or Highland Lao veterans, and Iraqi or Afghan special immigrants while excluding similarly situated aliens from other countries. See id:, 8 C.F.R. § 204.4(a) (2010) (defining Amerasian status in terms of national origin rather than race). Federal benefits are thus available on a different basis to an individual having a national origin in Haiti than to a similarly situated individual having a national origin in the Dominican Republic, to a Native American bom in Canada than to a Native American bom in Mexico, and to the child of a service member whose mother is Korean than to a similarly situated child whose mother is German. See 8 U.S.C. §§ 1612, 1641; 8 C.F.R. § 204.4(a); Oyama v. California, 332 U.S. 633 (1948) (classification based on nation in which citizen’s father was born overturned). PRWORA therefore classifies aliens, in part, on the basis of national origin, and by enacting § 31, the Commonwealth voluntarily adopted this national origin classification.
As discussed above, art. 106 removes the first step of equal protection analysis — determination whether a classification is suspect — from equal protection analysis and mandates strict *678scrutiny of the enumerated classifications whenever the Commonwealth establishes such categories.22 See part I, supra. Because § 31 imports the eligibility criteria of PRWORA and because those eligibility criteria classify on the basis of national origin, § 31 must be subject to strict scrutiny review under art. 106.
The command of art. 106 is inapplicable only if, pursuant to the supremacy clause, Federal law permits the State no alternative but to adopt policies that classify individuals on the basis of national origin. No party argues, and Justice Gants does not assert, that PRWORA contains such a mandate. See post at 684. Further, the fact that the Federal government (on national origin grounds) is unwilling to shoulder a portion of the financial load of Commonwealth Care does not render the Commonwealth obligated to classify eligibility on the basis of national origin — it merely makes such a classification economically attractive to the State that is left carrying the entire burden.23
Where the Massachusetts Constitution looks on the PRWORA classification with “vigorous disapproval,” strict scrutiny must be applied to the State’s voluntary decision to apply such a classification to Commonwealth Care. See King, supra at 21. Because rational basis review is inappropriate in this case, we answer Question 3 in the negative.
*679IV
Question 4\ If the answer to either Question 1 or to Question 2 is affirmative, what level of judicial scrutiny should be applied to the classification contained in § 31 (a), especially in light of the character of the Commonwealth Care program and the nature of its funding mechanisms?
We have answered neither question in the affirmative. Based on our analysis of Question 3, we conclude that it is unnecessary to develop some level of intermediate scrutiny applicable to the classification contained in § 31 (a).
This matter is remanded to the county court for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

So ordered.

The statutory terminology in this field is somewhat confusing. Broadly speaking, “qualified alienfs]” are lawful permanent residents and certain other categories of noncitizens. See 8 U.S.C. § 1641(b) (2006) (defining “qualified alien”). Qualified aliens may then be divided into those who are eligible for Federal benefits and those who are federally ineligible. 8 U.S.C. § 1612(a) (2006) (qualified aliens not eligible for Federal funds; listing exceptions). Federally eligible aliens are those who fall into certain statutory categories including alien veterans and military personnel on active duty as well as particular categories of refugees, asylees, deportation-withheld noncitizens, victims of domestic violence, Cuban or Haitian immigrants, Amerasians, Native Americans born in Canada or United States territories, Filipino veterans, Hmong or Highland Lao veterans, victims of severe forms of trafficking, and Iraqi or Afghan special immigrants. See 8 U.S.C. §§ 1612, 1641.

Because St. 2009, c. 65, § 31 (§ 31), was part of an appropriations bill, it expired at the end of fiscal year 2010. An essentially identical act, St. 2010, c. 131, § 136, applies to fiscal year 2011. All references to § 31 should, hereinafter, be considered as referring to both acts.

Commonwealth Bridge does not, therefore, serve as a State-funded alternative for aliens excluded from Commonwealth Care by operation of § 31 (a) because there is a subclass of aliens, included in the putative plaintiff class and seeking relief in this proceeding, who are eligible for neither program. Members of this group include those aliens whose income exceeded 300 per cent of the Federal poverty level prior to August 31, 2009, but since has declined as well as those individuals who either did not reside in the Commonwealth or failed to enroll in Commonwealth Care prior to August 31, 2009, but would presently be eligible but for their alienage. By way of example, certain aliens who are refugees and arrive in the Commonwealth today are permitted to join Commonwealth Care (see 8 U.S.C. § 1612[a][2][A]); aliens *661enrolled in Commonwealth Care prior to August 31, 2009, are eligible for Commonwealth Bridge (see § 31 [b]); and federally ineligible aliens arriving in the Commonwealth today are eligible for neither benefit (see § 31 [a]).

We acknowledge the amicus briefs submitted by the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts; Asian Pacific American Legal Center, Asian American Justice Center, and Asian American Institute; Irish Immigration Center; and Massachusetts Law Reform Institute, Health Care for All, and Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition.

We note that this theory was advanced in Espinoza v. Farah Mfg. Co., 414 U.S. 86 (1973) (Espinoza). In that case it was argued that Title VH of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibited discrimination on the basis of citizenship because “discrimination on the basis of citizenship has the effect of discriminating on the basis of national origin.” Id. at 92, quoting 29 C.F.R. § 1606.1(d) (1972), interpreting the phrase “national origin.” The United States Supreme Court declined to defer to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission regulation, determining that “there are ‘compelling indications that it is wrong.’ ” Id. at 94-95, quoting Red Lion Broadcasting Co. v. FCC, 395 U.S. 367, 381 (1969).

This court has not interpreted “national origin” so narrowly as to provide protections only to individuals who were born outside the United States. See, e.g., Commonwealth v. Carleton, 418 Mass. 773, 775 (1994) (finding discrimination on basis of “ethnicity” when considering prosecutor’s peremptory challenges of jurors with “Irish-sounding surnames”). See also Espinoza, supra at 88 (noting that words “national origin” and “ancest[ryj” were equated by drafters of Title VII of Civil Rights Act of 1964); Oyama v. California, 332 U.S. 633, 640 (1948) (discrimination against citizen due to father’s Japanese birth violates equal protection).

The most recognizable such individual may be Winston Churchill, son of an English father and American mother, who was an alien with a national origin in the United States until 1963 when he was declared an honorary citizen of the United States by act of Congress. See Pub. L. No. 88-6, 77 Stat. 5 (1963).

It is argued in certain of the amicus briefs that this court previously has included alienage within its formulation of the classes protected within art. 106 of the Amendments to the Massachusetts Constitution. In several instances this does not appear to have been the case. See Doe v. Commissioner of Transitional Assistance, 437 Mass. 521 (2002) (discussing equal protection without mention of art. 106); Care & Protection of Rebecca, 419 Mass. 67, 81 n.12 (1994) (addressing “equal protection” without reference to art. 106, citing Commonwealth v. King, 374 Mass. 5, 21 [1977] [discussing both Federal equal protection and art. 106]); Murphy v. Commissioner of the Dep’t of Indus. Accs., 415 Mass. 218, 226-227 (1993) (addressing equal protection clause of Federal Constitution); Franklin v. Spadafora, 388 Mass. 764, 774 n.16 (1983), quoting New Orleans v. Dukes, 427 U.S. 297, 303 (1976) (United States Supreme Court’s interpretation of Federal Constitution). This court has twice, in noting the existence of an overlap between art. 106 and the Federal equal protection clause, included citation to Graham v. Richardson, 403 U.S. 365 (1971) (Graham), where the United States Supreme Court held alienage to be a suspect classification. See Commonwealth v. King, supra; Opinion of the Justices, 373 Mass. 883, 886 (1977). Alienage was not before the court in either case and the citation to Graham is better understood as a reference to the types of classes subject to strict scrutiny than as an offhand incorporation of alienage into art. 106.

 We disagree with Justice Duffly regarding the first reported question in part because we reach a different conclusion as to the development of “national origin” precedent prior to 1976. Crucially, Justice Duffly notes that the 1964 Civil Rights Act (Act) was the “template for the enumerated protected classes in [art. 106].” Post at 692. In 1973, however, a majority of the United States Supreme Court held that the prohibition on national origin discrimination contained in the 1964 Civil Rights Act did not include a prohibition on alien-age discrimination. Espinoza, supra at 95 (aliens, like all residents, are protected under Act from discrimination on basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin but “nothing in the Act makes it illegal to discriminate on the basis of citizenship or alienage”). Cf. post at 691, citing Espinoza, supra at 96-97 (Douglas, J., dissenting). Where the template for art. 106 had been held to exclude protections against alienage classifications in 1973, we cannot hold that the drafters and voters understood art. 106 to include such protections in 1976.

In this action the plaintiffs mount a facial challenge to § 31, asserting that the statute “terminated the[ir] Commonwealth Care health coverage . . . solely because they are legal immigrants.” The complaint further asserts, however, that § 31 “denies them access to a state health care program based solely on their national origin.” The third reported question resolves the ambiguity by assuming that we are confronted with a classification based exclusively on alienage. We focus our analysis on this classification but, because the complaint may implicate both classifications, we also address national origin classification to the extent it is relevant.

The plaintiffs do not allege that exclusion from Commonwealth Care burdens a fundamental right, so that argument is waived. In its amicus brief, the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts does argue that “health care is an important if not a fundamental right.” “An amicus may not argue issues not raised by the parties,” so we decline to consider the question. Robinson v. State Ballot Law Comm’n, 432 Mass. 145, 147 n.4 (2000).

The statute at issue in Doe v. Commissioner of Transitional Assistance, 437 Mass. 521 (2002) {Doe), involved two separate programs, and we identified two different classifications. We determined that the first program, transitional aid to families with dependent children (TAFDC), involved a classification between citizens and aliens pursuant to the adoption of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA) eligibility standards by St. 1997, c. 43, § 210 {a). We applied rational basis analysis due to the State’s decision to adopt PRWORA eligibility standards. Doe, supra at 527-528. The second program, established by St. 1997, c. 43, § 210 {b) and (c), was open only to aliens and distinguished between aliens residing in the Commonwealth for more or less than six months. We applied rational basis analysis because the classification identified was one based on duration of residency. Doe, supra at 534. Our opinion did not analyze the fact that citizens participating in TAFDC were immediately eligible for benefits while aliens participating in the parallel program were required to wait six months. But see post at 684-685 (Gants, J., concurring in part and dissenting in part) (“Benefits under the TAFDC program were thus available to citizens who had resided in the Commonwealth for less than six months but not to similarly situated aliens, and the issue in Doe was whether rational basis or strict scrutiny applied to this classification”).

Parenthetically, such congressional action would invoke the supremacy clause, require the Commonwealth to adopt Federal guidelines, and thus excuse the Commonwealth’s action from traditional equal protection analysis.

Justice Gants does not enunciate a constitutional theory that explains why the State’s decision to voluntarily adopt discriminatory eligibility requirements should be subject to rational basis review. Instead, he ignores the actual structure of Commonwealth Care, treats the reimbursement-based funding mechanism of Commonwealth Care as a fiction, and argues that in such a counterfactual circumstance the substantive relief sought by the plaintiffs would make no sense. See post at 686-688. We disagree with this analysis.
If the State operated a health insurance premium assistance program with nonsuspect eligibility classifications and the Federal government operated a parallel program dispensing a “top up” benefit in conformity with PRWORA, Justice Gants would be correct in observing that it “would make no sense” to require that the State “restore [to resident aliens] every dollar lost in Federal funding.” Post at 687. That is not, however, the structure that actually exists.
Commonwealth Care is a State program that distributes a single benefit to eligible individuals. Pursuant to PRWORA, the Federal government has agreed to subsidize this benefit for some residents by reimbursing the Commonwealth on a discriminatory basis. The Commonwealth could have treated residents equally and allowed PRWORA to establish a wedge between nominal and effective rates of Federal reimbursement. In other words, the Commonwealth could have viewed PRWORA for what it is, an indirect means of reducing Federal financial support. See post at 684, 687. Instead, the Commonwealth chose to adopt the facially discriminatory PRWORA eligibility requirements, excluding a suspect class from an economic benefit but maximizing the effective rate of Federal reimbursement. See § 31. This is a State action that, in the absence of some exception rooted in constitutional principles rather than policy concerns, is subject to strict scrutiny for the reasons set forth herein. Though the consequence of applying this standard to Commonwealth Care or other programs may be fiscally painful, this is not a result that “makes no sense” from a constitutional or policy perspective. See post at 685-688.

Although it is clearly established, the precise source of Congress’s plenary *672authority over the entrance and expulsion of aliens, and thus the conditions of their residency, is unclear. See United States Const., art. I, § 8, cl. 4 (“The congress shall have power ... to establish a uniform rule of naturalization . . . throughout the United States”); Mathews v. Diaz, 426 U.S. 67, 81 (1976) (“For reasons long recognized as valid, the responsibility for regulating the relationship between the United States and our alien visitors has been committed to the political branches of the Federal Government”); Fong Yue Ting v. United States, 149 U.S. 698, 711, 713 (1893) (“The right to exclude or expel all aliens, or any class of aliens, absolutely or upon certain conditions, in war or in peace, [is] an inherent and inalienable right of every sovereign,” and this sovereign power “is vested in the political departments of the [Federal] government, and is to be regulated by treaty or by act of Congress”).

Justice Gants expresses the concern that, if strict scrutiny is applied, a subsequent ruling on the merits may “nullify[] the effect of [PRWORA] except to shift expenditures from the Federal government to the State.” Post at 686. This shifting of burdens, however, appears to be precisely the effect that Congress intended.
As discussed above, PRWORA permits the States to adopt some, all, or none of the eligibility requirements established in PRWORA as long as no benefits are paid for from the Federal fisc. See 8 U.S.C. §§ 1601(7), 1621(d), 1622, 1624. The statute expresses a preference for “ [s]elf-sufficiency’’ but does not suggest a congressional preference that benefits not be provided to qualified aliens. See 8 U.S.C. § 1601. Indeed, the statute does not even express such a preference regarding aliens who, unlike members of the plaintiff class, are “not lawfully present in the United States.” See 8 U.S.C. § 1621(d).
PRWORA states that aliens “not lawfully present” are prohibited from receiving public benefits (State or Federal) but provides, in the same section, that States may through “affirmative[] provision]” restore to such aliens any benefits lost as a result of PRWORA. 8 U.S.C. § 1621(d). Even regarding aliens “not lawfully present,” therefore, Congress’s sole interest is in the source of funds for the benefits and not in the provision or denial of the benefits themselves. Id. Justice Gants does not explain why Congress may have been concerned about “nullifying the effect of [PRWORA],” with regard to qualified aliens, post at 686, when 8 U.S.C. § 1621(d) indicates that Congress is pleased for States to do so regarding nonqualified aliens.

Justice Gants agrees, noting that PRWORA “allowed States to make their own determinations about alien eligibility for State benefits” and that PRWORA does not prohibit the provision of benefits, it merely “increased the financial burden of providing benefits to noncitizens.” Post at 684. We thus can identify no principled basis for concluding that increased expense somehow deprives the Commonwealth of autonomy and renders § 31 something other than an action undertaken solely by the Commonwealth. Justice Cardozo expressed the point forcefully and eloquently in refusing to find that the Social Security Act coerced State action:
“[T]o hold that motive or temptation is equivalent to coercion is to plunge the law in endless difficulties. The outcome of such a doctrine is the acceptance of a philosophical determinism by which choice becomes impossible. Till now the law has been guided by a robust common sense which assumes the freedom of the will as a working hypothesis in the solution of its problems. The wisdom of the hypothesis has illustration in this case. Nothing in the case suggests the exertion of a power akin to undue influence, if we assume that such a concept can ever be applied with fitness to the relations between state and nation.”
Steward Mach. Co. v. Davis, 301 U.S. 548, 589-590 (1937).

Lack of the franchise is a substantial, although certainly not the sole, concern underlying the rule that classification on the basis of alienage is generally suspect. It is therefore of some interest as a historical matter that, at various times, a number of States extended suffrage to certain classes of aliens but since have withdrawn that right. See Minor v. Happersett, 88 U.S. (21 Wall.) 162, 177 (1874) (“citizenship has not in all cases been made a condition precedent to the enjoyment of the right of suffrage” and number of States permitted voting by “persons of foreign birth, who have declared their intention to become citizens”); Raskin, Legal Aliens, Local Citizens: The Historical, Constitutional, and Theoretical Meanings of Alien Suffrage, 141 U. Pa. L. Rev. 1391, 1397-1417 (1993) (describing growth and decline of alien suffrage in United States).

The parties have stipulated that Commonwealth Care benefits are available to “certain Native Americans who were bom in Canada or other territories outside of the United States.”

The contrary proposition is readily stretched to the absurd. If large remittances were to convince Congress that qualified aliens of Swedish origin can afford additional taxes, it might invoke its plenary authority to impose a one per cent surcharge on their Federal income taxes. Whatever the merits of the surcharge and its compliance with the United States Constitution, there is no question that, if the Commonwealth were to “adopt by reference” the Federal “Swede-tax,” the Federal example and the mere existence of congressional authority over aliens would not excuse the State from compliance with art. 106.

We express no opinion whether the Commonwealth’s interest in maximizing the number of individuals insured through Commonwealth Care (G. L. c. 118H, § 2) is a legitimate and compelling State interest or whether the method adopted by § 31 (a) (exclusion of individuals for whom no Federal reimbursement is available) is narrowly tailored to achieve that interest. We do note, however, that the a principal purpose of PRWORA appears to be the shifting of financial burdens from the Federal government to the States and that 8 U.S.C. § 1601(7) suggests that the differing equal protection responsibilities of these levels of government do not appear to have passed Congress’s notice.