What options are available to immigrants?
Many people who are not born in the United States often wonder if they can get health insurance and if they do, could they also qualify for government assistance? In this article, you will learn what kind of status qualifies for health insurance through the marketplace. Even though the options are slim, some immigrants with certain immigration statuses can qualify to be on the marketplace exchange and may also qualify for federal assistance, also known as a subsidy. First and foremost, those immigrants who qualify for the marketplace must be “lawfully present” and therefore the qualifying statuses for the marketplace. Here is a list from healthcare.gov of the statuses that qualify for the marketplace.
- Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR/Green Card Holder)
- Asylee
- Refugee
- Cuban/Haitian Entrant
- Paroled into the U.S.
- Conditional Entrant Granted before 1980
- Battered Spouse, Child, and Parent
- Victim of Trafficking and his/her Spouse, Child, Sibling or Parent
- Granted Withholding of Deportation or Withholding of Removal, under the immigration laws or under the Convention against Torture (CAT)
- Individual with Non-immigrant Status, includes worker visas (such as H1, H-2A, H-2B), student visas, U-visa, T-Visa, and other visas, and citizens of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, and Palau
- Temporary Protected Status (TPS)
- Deferred Enforced Departure (DED)
- Deferred Action Status (Exception: Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) is not an eligible immigrant status for applying for health insurance)
- Lawful Temporary Resident
- Administrative order staying removal issued by the Department of Homeland Security
- Member of a federally-recognized Indian tribe or American Indian Born in Canada
- Resident of American Samoa
Do I qualify for health coverage if I am not under the “lawfully present” status?
If you are an immigrant who is permitted to work in the U.S but is not listed under a “lawfully present” status then you probably do not qualify for the marketplace health insurance. An example of this is those who are under DACA (Deferred Action of Childhood Arrivals). Those who are under DACA are permitted to work, have an education and hold a work social security but this status is not considered a “lawfully present” status, therefore, they do not qualify for the marketplace. However, you could still be eligible for “employer-sponsored plans and short-term plans.
According to an article from Georgetown University Health Policy Institute, undocumented immigrants could still qualify for assistance in case of an emergency. These types of assistance include safety programs, charity care in hospitals, certain treatments at Community Health Centers, and Migrant Health Centers. Regardless of your immigration status remember, providers cannot deny you services just because you don’t qualify for health insurance.
How Do I Apply for Health Insurance?
Now that you know how immigration status can affect your qualification in the marketplace, make sure to talk to your insurance agent to see if your status may qualify. Due to the constant changes that occur in the insurance marketplace and laws, we encourage citizens to work with an agent to receive professional guidance when purchasing health insurance. Our insurance agents keep you up to date about all the changes happening now and in the future. We understand that enrolling in health care insurance sounds tedious but with the help of your agent, the process should be easy and all taken care of for you. Call Compass Insurance Advisors, to get free advice about your insurance needs, (801) 901-3519.
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