Free or low-cost health insurance is available to individuals and families in New York State who meet income and other eligibility requirements. Coverage options include: Medicaid, Child Health Plus, the Essential Plan, NYC Care, and private insurance with financial help.

Your immigration status will be kept private when you apply for public health insurance. Information about your immigration status is used only to determine your eligibility for public benefits, and is not used for immigration enforcement. That means that your immigration status is not reported to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

Your immigration status may affect what kind of health insurance you are eligible for. Determining whether your immigration status falls into one of the following categories can be difficult. There are a lot of rumors about who is and isn’t eligible for health coverage. Getting accurate information is very important. Please speak with an attorney should you have any questions or concerns.

Lawfully Present

This is a general term to describe people who have valid non-immigrant status (like students or foreign workers), as well as people who have many other statuses. Those who have statuses listed below under “Qualified Immigrant,” and
“PRUCOL & Lawfully Present” are considered Lawfully Present. Those who have statuses listed below under “PRUCOL & Not Lawfully Present” and “Undocumented” are not considered lawfully present for purposes of health coverage.

However, individuals who are “PRUCOL & Not Lawfully Present” are still eligible for Medicaid if they meet other eligibility standards. Also, people who are pregnant or whose pregnancy ended within the last 12 months, and people who are 65 years old or older are eligible for Medicaid even if they are undocumented.

Qualified Immigrant
• Green Card Holder (Legal Permanent Resident, “LPR”), Permanent Resident Alien
• Lawfully residing active-duty service member & family
• Refugee
• Asylee
• Immigrant with withholding of removal or deportation
• Cuban or Haitian Entrant
• Amerasian
• T-visa holder (Trafficked immigrant)
• Parolee in United States for more than 1 year
• Battered immigrant spouse and child of U.S. citizen/LPR

PRUCOL & Lawfully Present for Purposes of Health Insurance
PRUCOL stands for “Permanently Residing Under Color of Law.” This is NOT a status granted by USCIS, but instead is a status that applies to the following groups of immigrants in order to determine their eligibility (along with income and other requirements) for Medicaid and some other public benefits.

• Holder of: U visa, K3/K4 visa, V visa or S visa
• Approved applicant for Visa
• Approved applicant for adjustment of status
• Grantee of withholding of removal under CAT
• Parolee granted for less than 1 year
• TPS (Temporary Protected Status)
• Applicant for TPS
• Deferred Action (non-DACA)
• Order of Supervision
• Deferred Enforced Departure
• Grantee of stay of deportation or removal
• Temporary resident INA 210/245A
• Family Unity Beneficiary
• Applicant for SIJS (Special Immigrant Juvenile Status)
• Applicant for Asylum/Withholding under INA or CAT
• Applicant for Record of Admission under 249 (registry alien)
• Applicant for Adjustment under LIFE Act
• Applicant for Legalization Programs under SAW (Seasonal and Agricultural Workers) and IRCA (Immigration Reform and Control Act)

PRUCOL & Not Lawfully Present for Purposes of Health Insurance
• Noncitizen who can show continuous residence since on or before January 1, 1972
• Immediate relative with approved I-130 (unless they have some other status)
• DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival)
• Individual received a denial from a federal immigration agency in response to an application or request for immigration relief, and after 15 business days there is no pending case for removal proceedings of the individual

Undocumented
• Visa overstay
• EWIs (entered country without inspection)

If you receive Medicaid due to pregnancy, you will continue to be eligible for Medicaid coverage for 12 months after your pregnancy ends, regardless of your immigration status and even if you are undocumented.

Undocumented low-income New Yorkers age 65 and older also are eligible for full Medicaid, not just “Emergency Medicaid.”

If you or someone you know has been ordered removed from the United States, but has been given a deferral, or an order from an immigration judge allowing you to remain in the country for a particular reason and/or under particular conditions, you are considered “PRUCOL,” and therefore eligible for certain kinds of health insurance.

To illustrate by example (please keep in mind this is just one example of many different possible situations):

One of The Legal Aid Society’s clients was ordered removed from the United States. Their removal was deferred, however, under the Convention Against Torture (C.A.T.) due to their mental illness and cognitive issues. They were put on an Order of Supervision, which required them to attend a behavioral health program in order to remain in this country, which Medicaid would cover. The client needed to apply for Medicaid and was told, incorrectly, that they needed a green card in order to get Medicaid. The client contacted The Legal Aid Society, which connected them with the right place to apply for Medicaid. The client was able to get Medicaid, enter a behavioral health program, and remain in the country.

Sometimes, behavioral health and rehabilitation programs will allow patients to enter treatment without coverage but will give patients a certain amount of time to get coverage.

If you do not have health coverage and you need to enter a program, you should always ask if you can apply for coverage after entering the program. However, please be aware that you may be charged for your care if you do not then apply for insurance or if you apply for insurance but are not eligible.

Certain programs, including some programs for people with substance use issues, are available to individuals regardless of immigration or insurance status. Please contact The Legal Aid Society if you have questions.

Finally, you may have heard about something called “Public Charge.” Public charge is one of many grounds of inadmissibility, which means that it can be a basis for denying entry to a non-citizen into the United States, or for denying an application to adjust status to Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR or green card holder).

You might be worried about the impact that applying for, and continuing to receive, public benefits like Medicaid will have on your immigration status. As it stands currently, relatively few applications for admission and adjustment are denied on public charge grounds. Under current law, the only government benefits that count for public charge purposes are cash assistance/welfare, SSI, and government-funded long-term institutional care (meaning being in a nursing home for an extended period). In addition to receipt of these benefits, the government may look at a range of factors, including your age, health, family status, assets, resources, financial status, education, and skills before it can find that you are a public charge.

To learn more about public charge click here.

The information in this document has been prepared by The Legal Aid Society for informational purposes only and is not legal advice. This information is not intended to create, and receipt of it does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship. You should not act upon any information without retaining professional legal counsel.