by Empire Justice Center & NY Immigration Coalition - updated to include Public Charge
Starting Jan. 1, 2024, immigrants age 65+ can get FULL MEDICAID even if they do not qualify for PRUCOL status. This landmark expansion -- won by a coalition working for HealthCare4All -- is discussed in this article. This article explains how New Yorkers age 65+ who previously had only Emergency Medicaid, or who had no health coverage at all because they are undocumented, can obtain Medicaid.
See New Health Insurance Option for Undocumented Immigrants Over 65 Fact Sheet (Dec. 18, 2023 NYSoH).
UKRAINE -
5/26/22 - The federal Office of Refugee Resettlement issued:
PL 22-13 Ukrainian Humanitarian Parolees Eligible for ORR Benefits and Services
Public Charge warning - if Ukrainian parolees later apply for adjustment of status through a relative or employment petition, receipt of certain federal benefits may be considered likely to make them a public charge. See more here. Note that Medicaid does NOT make someone a public charge unless it is for institutional care.
Significance of policy -- Previously, only those paroled for more than a year were eligible for any federal benefits and there was a 5-year wait for those over age 18. (The 5-year wait did not apply for Medicaid in NYS, though, which covers Medicaid during this period).
Benefits include Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (cash assistance), federal Medicaid, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and SSI, as well as other benefits available to refugees.
How to tell who is a humanitarian parolee - They should have a stamp in their passport indicating they have been paroled for a specific length of time. This includes Ukrainians who come here through the new Uniting for Ukraine program.
Expands federal benefits to Ukrainian humanitarian parolees, but not those who are here on a visa (such as a tourist visa), through a family reunification route, or who received Temporary Protected Status (TPS) (unless there was an underlying humanitarian parole).
Undocumented immigrants age 65+ will be eligible for full Medicaid (as opposed to only emergency Medicaid) in Jan. 2024. See here.
Public Charge update - see here
New York's Exchange Portal: A Gateway to Coverage for Immigrants (9/14/15) by Empire Justice Center reviews current rules on eligibility and describes how immigrants can access health care through NYSof Health portal, including for emergency care for those who are undocumented and not PRUCOL.
interactive Marketplace eligibility questionnaire -- designed to help enrollment assistors and consumers better assess their potential eligibility for Marketplace coverage based on immigration status, age and income. This questionnaire is not an official assessment of eligibility. To receive an official determination of eligibility contact the New York State of Health Marketplace at http://www.nystateofhealth.ny.gov or 1-855-355-5777
This tool was created jointly by the Children's Defense Fund - New York, the Empire Justice Center, and the Community Service Society through their work in the Health Care for All New York coalition.
Please see 2013 updates re PRUCOL status for people applying for or granted DACA status in this article.
As of March 9, 2021, the Trump-era Department of Homeland Security (DHS) public charge regulations no longer exist or apply. Those regulations temporarily changed the definition of who could be denied "adjustment of status" (green card) based on likelihood to become a "public charge." Now the 1999 Guidance has been reinstated. DHS is expected to publish a new final rule in July or August 2022 with revised regulations on public charge.
On June 3, 2022, the Biden administration updated its Public Charge resource webpage "to ensure that immigrants and their families, many of whom are essential and frontline workers, are not deterred by undue fear or confusion from obtaining access to important government services for which they are eligible to keep their families safe and healthy."
The only benefits that can be considered to make one likely to become a public charge are: (a) ongoing cash assistance for income maintenance including SSI (e.g, not one-shots or ERAP; and (b) government funded long-term institutional care. All Medicaid services other than institutional care do NOT make someone a public charge. For more info about Public Charge and FAQs see:
Fact Sheet by Protecting Immigrant Families on Public Charge (Dec. 2023) and
Know Your Rights Fact Sheets on Pubic Charge by Protecting Immigrant Families - in Many Languages
Legal Services NYC KNOW YOUR RIGHTS: New York Immigrants are Eligible for Benefit Programs
New York State New Americans Hotline for a referral to an organization to advise you. 212-419-3737 Toll-free in New York State at 1-800-566-7636
Monday-Friday, from 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Saturday-Sunday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Medical providers can call : NYLAG’s LegalHealth hotline: 212.659.6188
Legal Services NYC intake line at 917-661-4500
New York Immigration Coalition state-wide list of legal resources, https://www.nyic.org/providers/