These are the US states that provide health care to undocumented immigrants

As the immigration crisis worsens at the southern border of the United States, there are 11 states and Washington DC in that country that “provide full health care coverage to more than one million low-income immigrants regardless of immigration status.”

This is according to state data collected by KFF Health News, published by the Los Angeles Times. “The majority are undocumented,” state officials said.

According to the Pew Research Center, “more than 10 million people live undocumented in the United States.”

Why has state leaders increased interest in providing medical care to this population? The above medium responds: Immigrant advocates and academics point to two factors:

“The pandemic underscored the need for coverage for all,” said Ciriac Álvarez Valle, senior policy analyst at Voices for Utah Children, an advocacy group.

Here are the benefits California will offer to undocumented immigrants in the United States by 2024

States and health insurance

Participation in “these immigrant health insurance programs could double by 2025 as at least seven states begin or expand coverage.”

In January, Republican-controlled Utah will begin insuring children regardless of their immigration status. New York and California will expand eligibility to cover more adults.

According to a KFF-Los Angeles Times survey, an estimated half of people living in the country without legal status are uninsured, more than five times the uninsured rate among U.S. citizens.

This is the app for immigrants that helps them get medical care and has food and medicine guides at their fingertips.

Undocumented immigrants “are not eligible for federal health care programs, but states can use their own money to provide coverage through Medicaid, the state-federal insurance program for low-income people.”

California “was the first state to begin reporting on immigrants regardless of their legal status,” starting with children in 2016.

That “is the state with the most undocumented immigrants with state health insurance, which currently covers approximately 655,000 immigrants without regard to their immigration status.” In January 2024, coverage will be extended to people between 26 and 49 years oldThis group will benefit about 700,000 additional Californians, according to Los Angeles media.

Also provide full coverage to some people living in the country without documents in “Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, DC and Washington State.”

The states of New York and Washington will expand participation options next year.

Oregon, Colorado and New Jersey – according to the Los Angeles Times – “have totaled more than 100,000 people in recent years, regardless of legal status.”

They expect Minnesota to remain in existence in 2025, covering about 40,000 residents.

While some states are expanding health care coverage, they are imposing enrollment limits to control spending.

They quote in the Los Angeles Times that, for example, “the cost of the Utah program is capped at $4.5 million per year, limiting enrollment to about 2,000 children. Premiums will vary based on income, but will cost no more than $300 per year, with preventive services fully covered.”

They explain that in Colorado, it is also limiting registration for subsidized coverage in its program, setting a limit of 10,000 people in 2023 and 11,000 in 2024. The available spots for 2024 were filled within two days from the start of registration in completed in November, they specify. Los Angeles Times.

With more than two decades in the United States, Mexican Adriana Miranda, 46, “is enrolled in a private plan through OmniSalud, a state program similar to the Obamacare insurance marketplace in which low-income Colorado residents without legal residency can search for plans with a discount on premiums.”

Under the state program, he does not pay a monthly premium due to his low income, with a $40 co-payment for visits to specialists, the aforementioned media emphasize.

Adam Fox, deputy director of the Colorado Consumer Health Initiative, explained to the Los Angeles Times that OmniSalud only covers a small portion of the more than 200,000 undocumented people living in Colorado.

Beginning in 2025, “all children in low-income families will be able to be covered by state Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), regardless of their immigration status.”

With information from the Los Angeles Times

(JO)