Immigrant Eligibility for Medicaid & other Public Benefits - 2024 Update for Undocumented Immigrants Age 65+

Updated Immigrant Eligibility for Public Benefits in NYS Chart  

              by Empire Justice Center & NY Immigration Coalition - updated to include Public Charge 

PUBLIC CHARGE - See updates here. 

Jan. 1, 2024  Expansion:  Undocumented Immigrants Age 65+ Eligible for Full Medicaid

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). 

2022 NEWS - Including UKRAINIAN IMMIGRANTS 

UKRAINE - 

1.  LINU - PUBLIC BENEFITS for DISPLACED UKRAINIANS Arriving in the US - See this WEBSITE for many resources, including:
   • Public Benefits for Displaced Ukrainians -- Presentation by Maria Hunter (NYLAG)

2. 5/26/22 - The federal Office of Refugee Resettlement issued:
   PL 22-13 Ukrainian Humanitarian Parolees Eligible for ORR Benefits and Services 

• Office of Refugee Resettlement FACT SHEET 

  • 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. 

1. 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).

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. 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).  

• Immigrants from UKRAINE may also receive Temporary Protected Status  but only if they came to the US on or before April 11, 2022 and register for TPS status between April 19, 2022 –October 19, 2023.   See TPS info on Ukraine.   For  those who came to the US after that date, humanitarian parole is possible.  TPS status qualifies an individual for NYS Medicaid.  Public charge does not apply if adjusting status through asylum or to benefits received while having TPS status.  Note other countries for whom immigrants are also eligible for TPS. 

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 

MORE RESOURCES ON IMMIGRANT ELIGIBILITY FOR HEALTH CARE 

 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.   

• Includes an Immigrant Eligibility Crosswalk which gives detailed eligibility information for immigrants for various health programs (2019)

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.  

NEWS on Public Charge -  Trump Executive Orders have Not Changed Public Charge Policy (at least as of Jan. 23, 2025) - Regulations Issued by Trump Administration VACATED March 8, 2021; 1999 Guidance Reinstated  

On the first day of his new administration Monday, January 20, Trump issued a series of executive orders, several related to immigration. Immigrant families need to know this has not changed public charge policy at this time.  Check for updates on the  Public Charge webpage of the Protecting Immigrant Families Coalition at PifCoalition.org/PC.

The Public Charge policy that the Biden Administration reinstated since March 9, 2021 is still in effect.  This repealed the  regulations issued in the first Trump administration, which  temporarily changed the definition of who could be denied "adjustment of status" (green card) based on likelihood to become a "public charge."   The 1999 Guidance was reinstated, followed by publication of the 2022 Public Charge Ground of Inadmissibility Final Rule.   

The Public Charge resource webpage of the USCIS immigration agency states the goal "to reduce the confusion and fear that may have prevented immigrants and their families, including their children, from obtaining access to critical government services available to them... We also encourage everyone, including noncitizens, to seek necessary medical care, including treatment or preventive services for COVID-19." (last accessed Jan. 23, 2025)   

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:

•  USCIS Public Charge Resources.

• USCIS Public Charge Fact Sheet for Gender-Based Violence Survivors

•  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   

FOR HELP: 

• 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/