Tag: CHIP

Where can immigrants get health care or health coverage when they cannot enroll in Medicaid or CHIP or get coverage through the Marketplaces?

Hospitals are required to provide emergency care and treatment to all individuals regardless of immigration or insurance status, though afterwards they can bill for their services. In addition, individuals may get low-cost care at community health centers.

Individuals may purchase health coverage through an employer or a spouse’s employer or the individual insurance market outside of the Marketplace. Some states and counties also offer health programs for immigrants.

Will getting health insurance through Medicaid, CHIP, or Health Insurance Marketplaces affect an individual’s ability to obtain lawful permanent resident status or citizenship?

Currently, getting health insurance through Medicaid, CHIP, or the Marketplaces generally will not prevent an individual from obtaining lawful permanent resident status (get a green card) or citizenship.  One exception would be if an individual is receiving long-term care in an institution that is financed by Medicaid.

The rules may change for people seeking a green card in the future, but those changes are not yet final.  If you are living in the U.S. and applying for a green card here, you can still get health insurance through Medicaid, CHIP, or a Health Insurance Marketplace without affecting your application.  Get help deciding what is best for your family and consult with an immigration attorney if you can.  You can use this online directory to search for local nonprofit organizations that provide legal help and advice:  http://www.immigrationlawhelp.org

Can family members in families with mixed immigration status, where some family members are citizens or lawfully present and others are undocumented, enroll in Medicaid or CHIP or receive help buying coverage through the Marketplaces?

Citizen and lawfully present family members can get health insurance coverage through Medicaid, CHIP, and Marketplaces even if other family members are not lawfully present. Family members who are not lawfully present, including undocumented immigrants, may apply for health insurance for citizen and lawfully present family members. For example, an undocumented immigrant parent may apply for health insurance for a citizen child.

When a family with mixed immigration status applies for health insurance, it only has to give citizenship and immigration status for those family members applying for coverage. Non-applicants, such as a parent applying for a child, do not have to provide citizenship or immigration status. Non-applicants will be asked to provide a Social Security Number, but do not have to provide one unless the family is applying for help with costs for Marketplace coverage and the individual is the tax-filer for the household, and the individual has a SSN.  Information provided by applicants will not be used for immigration enforcement purposes.

Can immigrants enroll in Medicaid or Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) coverage?

Most lawfully present immigrants who meet Medicaid and CHIP program requirements, such as income and state residency, can enroll in Medicaid or CHIP after they have been in the United States for 5 years or more.

Some groups of lawfully present immigrants do not have to wait five years before they may enroll in Medicaid and CHIP. These include refugees, asylees, and other humanitarian immigrants; veterans and military families; and pregnant women and children in some states.

Some lawfully present immigrants who are authorized to work in the United States cannot enroll in Medicaid, even if they have been in the country for five or more years.

Undocumented immigrants may not enroll in Medicaid or CHIP coverage.

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