Medicaid insurance for temporary resident

[milimelo 4,568]

M-618 guide on USCIS covers the rights AND responsibilities of permanent residents:

https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/files/nativedocuments/M-618.pdf

[yuna628 9,726]

Not true. In many states permanent residents do not have to be here for any number of years to be eligible for Medicaid.

Federal Medicaid is a means tested benefit, and the law is extremely clear on what sort of immigrants qualify and which do not. A typical marriage based immigrant will not. There are a few select state programs that utilize certain benefits similar to (NY comes to mind iirc) and other related coverage in certain scenarios involving pregnant women and of course children - these state programs are not full Medicaid but more commonly called CHIP- S-CHIP under the CHIPRA law.

None of this will apply to a male immigrant into this country.

Federal Medicaid it is off limits for five years, you can even find this information at Medicaid.gov and it is quite clear.

[newacct 688]

Federal Medicaid is a means tested benefit, and the law is extremely clear on what sort of immigrants qualify and which do not. A typical marriage based immigrant will not. There are a few select state programs that utilize certain benefits similar to (NY comes to mind iirc) and other related coverage in certain scenarios involving pregnant women and of course children - these state programs are not full Medicaid but more commonly called CHIP- S-CHIP under the CHIPRA law.

None of this will apply to a male immigrant into this country.

Federal Medicaid it is off limits for five years, you can even find this information at Medicaid.gov and it is quite clear.

I am not talking about some other program. I am talking about Medicaid. In some states, any permanent resident is eligible for that state's Medicaid. Yes, those programs are partially state funded. But it is full Medicaid.

[IcezMan_IcezLady 582]

https://www.healthcare.gov/fees/fee-for-not-being-covered/

The fee for not having health insurance in 2016

The fee is calculated 2 different ways – as a percentage of your household income, and per person. You’ll pay whichever is higher.

Percentage of income

• 2.5% of household income
• Maximum: Total yearly premium for the national average price of a Bronze plan sold through the Marketplace

Per person

• $695 per adult
• $347.50 per child under 18
• Maximum: $2,085

[IcezMan_IcezLady 582]

Medicaid, CHIP, and “public charge” status

Applying for Medicaid or CHIP, or getting savings for health insurance costs in the Marketplace, doesn’t make someone a "public charge." This means it won’t affect their chances of becoming a Lawful Permanent Resident or U.S. citizen.

https://www.healthcare.gov/immigrants/lawfully-present-immigrants/

. What publicly funded benefits may be considered for public charge purposes?

A. Cash assistance for income maintenance and institutionalization for long-term care at government expense may be considered for public charge purposes. However, receipt of such benefits must still be considered in the context of the totality of the circumstances before a person will be deemed inadmissible on public charge grounds.

Public benefits that are received by one member of a family are also not attributed to other family members for public charge purposes unless the cash benefits amount to the sole support of the family.

Acceptance of the following types of assistance may lead to the determination that the individual is likely to become a public charge:

Supplemental Security Income (SSI) under Title XVI of Social Security Act

• Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) cash assistance (part A of Title IV of the Social Security Act--the successor to the AFDC program) (Note: Non cash benefits under TANF such as subsidized child care or transit subsidies cannot be considered and non-recurrent cash payments for crisis situations cannot be considered for evidence of public charge)
• State and local cash assistance programs that provide benefits for income maintenance (often called "General Assistance" programs)
• Programs (including Medicaid) supporting individuals who are institutionalized for long-term care (e.g., in a nursing home or mental health institution). (Note: costs of incarceration for prison are not considered for public charge determinations)

This is not an exhaustive list of the types of cash benefits that could lead to a determination that a person is likely to become primarily dependent on the government for subsistence, and thus, a public charge. Receipt of any such cash benefits not listed above will continue to be assessed under the “totality of the circumstances” analysis described above.

https://www.uscis.gov/green-card/green-card-processes-and-procedures/public-charge

Edited March 22, 2016 by IcezMan_IcezLady

[yuna628 9,726]

I don't know how to explain this any more than to copy and paste it a million times over:

In referring to the public charge law there are several things to consider: as follows:

Immigrants who are “qualified non-citizens” are generally eligible for coverage through Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), if they meet their state’s income and residency rules.

In order to get Medicaid and CHIP coverage, many qualified non-citizens (such as many LPRs or green card holders) have a 5-year waiting period. This means they must wait 5 years after receiving "qualified" immigration status before they can get Medicaid and CHIP coverage. There are exceptions. For example, refugees, asylees, or LPRs who used to be refugees or asylees don’t have to wait 5 years.

Medicaid & CHIP Coverage for Lawfully Residing Children and Pregnant Women

States have the option to remove the 5-year waiting period and cover lawfully residing children and/or pregnant women in Medicaid or CHIP. A child or pregnant woman is "lawfully residing" if they’re "lawfully present" and otherwise eligible for Medicaid or CHIP in the state. Learn how someone is defined as lawfully present.

Twenty-nine states, plus the District of Columbia and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, have chosen to provide Medicaid coverage to lawfully residing children and/or pregnant women without a 5-year waiting period. Twenty-one of these states also cover lawfully residing children or pregnant women in CHIP. Find out if your state has this option in place.

Getting emergency care

Medicaid provides payment for treatment of an emergency medical condition for people who meet all Medicaid eligibility criteria in the state (such as income and state residency), but don’t have an eligible immigration status. ((this has been discussed before on this forum and it is under very specific and the most severe scenario to obtain))

Medicaid, CHIP, and “public charge” status

Applying for Medicaid or CHIP, or getting savings for health insurance costs in the Marketplace, doesn’t make someone a "public charge." This means it won’t affect their chances of becoming a Lawful Permanent Resident or U.S. citizen.

((This final statement means you will not be considered a public charge IF you have met the ABOVE criteria as stated above, e.g; you have waited five years, you qualify under a specific state's Medicaid/CHIP program as a pregnant woman or child, or you have met the criteria for state specific emergency Medicaid. OR you apply for the ACA/healthcare marketplace exchange/Obamacare which has nothing to do with Medicare in the first place.))

https://www.healthcare.gov/immigrants/lawfully-present-immigrants/

Referring now back to Federal Medicaid criteria at Medicaid.gov

The following groups may be eligible for Medicaid and CHIP:
–
Qualified non-citizens who entered before 8/96
–
Qualified Immigrants who reach end of 5 year waiting period (i.eLPRs/green card holders)
–
Qualified Immigrants exempt from 5-year waiting period (e.g., Refugees, Asylees, Cuban/Haitian entrants, Trafficking Victims, Veteran families)
•
No federal funding to cover undocumented immigrants, except for payment for limited emergency services

CHIPRA made available a state option to cover children and/or pregnant women who are:
–
Lawfully present, and otherwise eligible
–
Without a 5-year waiting period
–
Regardless of date of entry into the U.S.
•
29 states, DC and CNMI

•
Applying for Medicaid or CHIP does not make someone a “public charge.”
–
It will not affect someone’s chances of becoming an LPR or US citizen.
–
The one exception is for individuals receiving long-term care in an institution at government expense. These people may face barriers getting a green card.

https://www.medicaid.gov/medicaid-chip-program-information/by-topics/outreach-and-enrollment/downloads/overview-of-eligibility-for-non-citizens-in-medicaid-and-chip.pdf

The criteria must be met so that the person is not considered a public charge first. The OP has not been here for five years, is not a pregnant woman or a child (I would assume), and would most likely not qualify under any sort of state funded emergency Medicaid scenario, and is more than eligible to seek out health insurance through their state or federal exchange. https://www.medicaid.gov/medicaid-chip-program-information/by-topics/outreach-and-enrollment/lawfully-residing.html

Washington has it's own exchange for normal qualifying immigrants and allows state Medicaid/CHIP coverage for pregnant woman and children.

http://www.wahbexchange.org/new-customers/who-can-sign-up/immigrants/

As this notes for Washington State:

The five-year bar only applies to non-emergency Medicaid. It does NOT affect eligibility for:

• emergency Medicaid for immigrants
• health insurance through the health insurance exchanges
• medical coverage for low-income children and pregnant women

*Washington State has a program called Medical Care Services (MCS) for lawfully present immigrants who are age 65 or older, blind, or disabled, who are ineligible for non-emergency Medicaid.

http://www.washingtonlawhelp.org/resource/health-care-reform-immigrant-eligibility#c

Mary Wood, section manager at Washington State Health Care Authority, said the rules related to immigrants’ eligibility for Medicaid under ACA haven’t changed: If their immigration status made them ineligible before the law took effect, they’ll remain ineligible.

U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents or green-card holders who have been in this country for five years or longer will be treated the same as U.S.-born citizens when it comes to coverage. They can apply for Medicaid under the program’s broadened guidelines if their income is low enough.

Other types of immigrants will also qualify regardless of how long they’ve been in this country: asylum seekers and refugees, special immigrants from Iraq and Afghanistan, victims of trafficking and immigrants who served in the armed services.

They will be among an estimated 250,000 people who state officials estimate will become newly eligible under the expanded Medicaid limits for those with incomes up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level — or $15,856 for a single person.http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/how-will-immigrants-fare-under-obamacare-its-complicated/

[Russiastop 0]

You CAN apply for Medicaid. I am a conditional resident and I had Medicaid for a year without any problem. Your state regulations will define if you qualify for it but you can apply. For the family of one Medicaid income limit is $1354 per month and for 2 people $1832. Also your assets can matter. In some states they deny your Medicaid application if you have $2000 on your bank account.