Is wife eligible for Medicaid for pregnancy ?

[Illis411 0]

1 hour ago, RWD said:

I saw this in another thread directly from the USCIS:

 

Benefits Not Subject to Public Charge Consideration

"Medicaid and other health insurance and health services (including public assistance for immunizations and for testing and treatment of symptoms of communicable diseases, use of health clinics, short-term rehabilitation services, prenatal care and emergency medical services) other than support for long-term institutional care"

 

https://www.uscis.gov/news/fact-sheets/public-charge-fact-sheet

 

Link to thread:

 

 

THANKS!!!

 

Yeah from what I understand it is fine to use Medicaid here in NY without fear of deportation, and/or financial ruin.  The new proposal however would include Medicaid, but thats IF the bill passes as is, and I believe only applies to those vulnerable ones who use medicaid AFTER the bill approval.  But still though, NY as well as california seem to be the safest place to be because of state funds.  Thats what I've gathered anyway!!

[Illis411 0]

Wait I’m confused again. This is directly from the joint sponsor page....

 

“If an intending immigrant becomes a lawful permanent resident in the United States based on a Form I-864EZ that you have signed, then, until your obligations under Form I-864EZ terminate, your income and assets may be considered available to that person, in determining whether he or she is eligible for certain Federal means-tested public benefits and also for state or local means-tested public benefits, if the state or local government's rules provide for consideration of your income and assets as available to the person.
This provision does not apply to public benefits specified in section 403(c) of the Welfare Reform Act, such as emergency Medicaid; short-term, non-cash emergency relief; services provided under the National School Lunch and Child Nutrition Acts; immunizations and testing and treatment for communicable diseases; and means-tested programs under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.
What If I Do Not Fulfill My Obligations?
If you do not provide sufficient support to the person who becomes a lawful permanent resident based on the Form I-864EZ that you signed, that person may sue you for this support.
If a Federal, state, local, or a private agency provides any covered means-tested public benefit to the person who becomes a lawful permanent resident based on the Form I-864EZ that you signed, the agency may ask you to reimburse them for the amount of the benefits they provided. If you do not make the reimbursement, the agency may sue you for the amount that the agency believes you owe.
If you are sued, and the court enters a judgment against you, the person or agency that sued you may use any legally permitted procedures for enforcing or collecting the judgment. You may also be required to pay the costs of collection, including attorney fees.”

 

 

 

Why is this so confusing? Am I brain dead? “Public charge” on USCIS page mentions that Medicaid is not considered a public charge. However this form explicitly states any use of Medicaid at any level would be using a means tested benefit and thus a breach of contract. Being that my father signed this form that doesn’t sit well with me. But then on NY Medicaid page it states receiving Medicaid will not negatively effect any immigrant and the information is not shared with USCIS. So is this like marijuana? Technically what we are doing is not allowed at federal level but the state permits it so it’s completely safe? This is because I’m in New York, right? They can’t go after my sponsor, right?

 

I know I’ve posted about this a lot and i feel like a complete idiot I can’t get this right. Anyone that’s better at interpreting this please feel free to chime in. Was about to move forward but my pops reminded me what he signed and I really didn’t have a good answer. Thoughts ??

 

 

[Villanelle 4,122]

On 4/24/2019 at 10:19 AM, Illis411 said:

Wait I’m confused again. This is directly from the joint sponsor page....

 

“If an intending immigrant becomes a lawful permanent resident in the United States based on a Form I-864EZ that you have signed, then, until your obligations under Form I-864EZ terminate, your income and assets may be considered available to that person, in determining whether he or she is eligible for certain Federal means-tested public benefits and also for state or local means-tested public benefits, if the state or local government's rules provide for consideration of your income and assets as available to the person.
This provision does not apply to public benefits specified in section 403(c) of the Welfare Reform Act, such as emergency Medicaid; short-term, non-cash emergency relief; services provided under the National School Lunch and Child Nutrition Acts; immunizations and testing and treatment for communicable diseases; and means-tested programs under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.
What If I Do Not Fulfill My Obligations?
If you do not provide sufficient support to the person who becomes a lawful permanent resident based on the Form I-864EZ that you signed, that person may sue you for this support.
If a Federal, state, local, or a private agency provides any covered means-tested public benefit to the person who becomes a lawful permanent resident based on the Form I-864EZ that you signed, the agency may ask you to reimburse them for the amount of the benefits they provided. If you do not make the reimbursement, the agency may sue you for the amount that the agency believes you owe.
If you are sued, and the court enters a judgment against you, the person or agency that sued you may use any legally permitted procedures for enforcing or collecting the judgment. You may also be required to pay the costs of collection, including attorney fees.”

 

 

 

Why is this so confusing? Am I brain dead? “Public charge” on USCIS page mentions that Medicaid is not considered a public charge. However this form explicitly states any use of Medicaid at any level would be using a means tested benefit and thus a breach of contract. Being that my father signed this form that doesn’t sit well with me. But then on NY Medicaid page it states receiving Medicaid will not negatively effect any immigrant and the information is not shared with USCIS. So is this like marijuana? Technically what we are doing is not allowed at federal level but the state permits it so it’s completely safe? This is because I’m in New York, right? They can’t go after my sponsor, right?

 

I know I’ve posted about this a lot and i feel like a complete idiot I can’t get this right. Anyone that’s better at interpreting this please feel free to chime in. Was about to move forward but my pops reminded me what he signed and I really didn’t have a good answer. Thoughts ??

 

 

Its OK to ask questions, its a confusing subject! Lets go over some basics again.... 

 

Medicaid is 'general all purpose insurance. Emergency Medicaid is a 'one time limited event insurance' It can cover a pregnancy or other emergency medical situation- like an accident. Medicaid and Emergency Medicaid are 2 different things.

 

In the text you posted above it clearly says Emergency Medicaid IS NOT considered a public charge. Regular Medicaid IS considered a public charge.

 

Every state gets federal funding for Medicaid. These federal funds can NOT be used for immigrants (less then 5yr LPR) by law. Anyone that uses those federal funds can be asked to repay them (or their sponsor). Some states- like NY use both federal funds and state funds in their medicaid program. As previously explained NY will use state funds ONLY to pay for medicaid for immigrants, until they become eligible to use the federal funds.

 

So since you are NOT using federal funded Medicaid- you are using NY state funded Medicaid- it does not violate the 864. The 864 prevents you from using federal funds/forces you to repay federal funds used.

 

Your spouse may qualify for both state funded Medicaid which would give her ins coverage- exactly like yours except the state would be funding it and yours as a USC is probably being funded by the feds. Or she may also qualify to use Emergency Medicaid which is federal funds that are excluded from public charge. 

[Illis411 0]

48 minutes ago, username_taken said:

Its OK to ask questions, its a confusing subject! Lets go over some basics again.... 

 

Medicaid is 'general all purpose insurance. Emergency Medicaid is a 'one time limited event insurance' It can cover a pregnancy or other emergency medical situation- like an accident. Medicaid and Emergency Medicaid are 2 different things.

 

In the text you posted above it clearly says Emergency Medicaid IS NOT considered a public charge. Regular Medicaid IS considered a public charge.

 

Every state gets federal funding for Medicaid. These federal funds can NOT be used for immigrants (less then 5yr LPR) by law. Anyone that uses those federal funds can be asked to repay them (or their sponsor). Some states- like NY use both federal funds and state funds in their medicaid program. As previously explained NY will use state funds ONLY to pay for medicaid for immigrants, until they become eligible to use the federal funds.

 

So since you are NOT using federal funded Medicaid- you are using NY state funded Medicaid- it does not violate the 864. The 864 prevents you from using federal funds/forces you to repay federal funds used.

 

Your spouse may qualify for both state funded Medicaid which would give her ins coverage- exactly like yours except the state would be funding it and yours as a USC is probably being funded by the feds. Or she may also qualify to use Emergency Medicaid which is federal funds that are excluded from public charge. 

This is like inception:Me quoting you quoting me quoting the USCIS 😹

 

Ok, so I see that, but in that first paragraph of the joint sponsor page it says  ...”in determining whether he or she is eligible for certain Federal means-tested public benefits and also for state or local means-tested public benefits, if the state or local government's rules provide for consideration of your income and assets as available to the person.”

 

isnt that stating that using state funds would also be considered a breach of contract?? 

 

And I get that emergency Medicaid is ok no matter what, but are we sure that a pregnancy- in terms of the routine prenatal care check ups, exams, etc.- would be considered “emergency Medicaid”?  I could see the actual delivery being covered but even that I’m not positive on...

 

Basically from my understanding, if we are OK, it’s only because we live in a state that is basically looking out for immigrants, and even though that general USCIS form states one thing-“you can’t use non emergency Medicaid” (which also seems redundant if that’s not allowed anywhere anyway) NY is not following. Sort of like my comparison to marijuana legalization in states..

[geowrian 22,337]

19 minutes ago, Illis411 said:

Ok, so I see that, but in that first paragraph of the joint sponsor page it says  ...”in determining whether he or she is eligible for certain Federal means-tested public benefits and also for state or local means-tested public benefits, if the state or local government's rules provide for consideration of your income and assets as available to the person.”

 

isnt that stating that using state funds would also be considered a breach of contract?? 

It means that if a state (or locality) considers your income and assets in consideration of the benefit, the restrictions on federal funds can be applied. It does not mean state funds cannot be used. If the state has a surplus and wants to give everybody making under $40,000/year a $1,000 check, that's on them. The federal government has no claim to funds they didn't provide (if they paid $0, then they can't collect more than $0).

 

19 minutes ago, Illis411 said:

And I get that emergency Medicaid is ok no matter what, but are we sure that a pregnancy- in terms of the routine prenatal care check ups, exams, etc.- would be considered “emergency Medicaid”?  I could see the actual delivery being covered but even that I’m not positive on...

Benefits covered under Emergency medicaid are limited. I certainly will not claim to be an expert in this area, but my understanding is that the delivery and associated costs can be covered. For the other items beforehand  I'll defer to somebody more experienced but I would be mildly surprised if it covered all direct medical costs.

 

19 minutes ago, Illis411 said:

Sort of like my comparison to marijuana legalization in states..

Not quite the same comparison. NY choosing to pay for the coverage without the assistance of the federal government is not the same as a state permitting a controlled substance.

Federal law still covers controlled substances nationwide...they do have a say. The federal government only has say over how their funds are used for immigrants, not how states want to spend their money. Apples and oranges.

 

One can be denied naturalization for involvement in violation of federal law with controlled substances (including personal usage). They even just very recently put out several notices about this subject and updated their policy manual.

https://www.uscis.gov/news/alerts/uscis-issues-policy-guidance-clarifying-how-federal-controlled-substances-law-applies-naturalization-determinations

[Illis411 0]

20 minutes ago, geowrian said:

It means that if a state (or locality) considers your income and assets in consideration of the benefit, the restrictions on federal funds can be applied. It does not mean state funds cannot be used. If the state has a surplus and wants to give everybody making under $40,000/year a $1,000 check, that's on them. The federal government has no claim to funds they didn't provide (if they paid $0, then they can't collect more than $0).

 

Benefits covered under Emergency medicaid are limited. I certainly will not claim to be an expert in this area, but my understanding is that the delivery and associated costs can be covered. For the other items beforehand  I'll defer to somebody more experienced but I would be mildly surprised if it covered all direct medical costs.

 

Not quite the same comparison. NY choosing to pay for the coverage without the assistance of the federal government is not the same as a state permitting a controlled substance.

Federal law still covers controlled substances nationwide...they do have a say. The federal government only has say over how their funds are used for immigrants, not how states want to spend their money. Apples and oranges.

 

One can be denied naturalization for involvement in violation of federal law with controlled substances (including personal usage). They even just very recently put out several notices about this subject and updated their policy manual.

https://www.uscis.gov/news/alerts/uscis-issues-policy-guidance-clarifying-how-federal-controlled-substances-law-applies-naturalization-determinations

So basically, because it’s state funded, it’s completely ok. This is what EVERYONE has been saying but I just can’t get that through my head ! Signing those documents, the language makes it sound like even state funding would be a violation, but I’ll take everyone’s word on it! Appreciate this community in helping us with this !!!! 🙌🙌🙏🙏

[Villanelle 4,122]

Its confusing because there are various laws (federal and state/local) that come into play.

The 864 does allow for fed, state, or local gov to use what they call 'sponsor deeming' or 'sponsor liability for mean tested benefits'. That basically means someone with an 864- when they apply for means tested benefits from any state, fed or local program- that program can consider their sponsors income as the applicants and or recoup the money from the sponsor. 

 

NY state uses its own state funds to cover the medicaid program costs for immigrants. So you are not using federal funds since they are state funds. NY also has legislation saying the state money they use for medicaid for immigrants is not subject to sponsor deeming or sponsor liability. 

 

So this part " your income and assets may be considered available to that person, in determining whether he or she is eligible for certain Federal means-tested public benefits and also for state or local means-tested public benefits, if the state or local government's rules provide for consideration of your income and assets as available to the person."  NY rules do not use sponsor deeming. So no consideration of sponsors income or assets to qualify.

 

"If a Federal, state, local, or a private agency provides any covered means-tested public benefit to the person who becomes a lawful permanent resident based on the Form I-864EZ that you signed, the agency may ask you to reimburse them for the amount of the benefits they provided. If you do not make the reimbursement, the agency may sue you for the amount that the agency believes you owe." NY also has a policy that they do not enforce sponsor liability for medicaid.