States Broaden Entry to Inexpensive Non-public Protection for Immigrant Populations

By Justin Giovannelli and Rachel Schwab

The U.S. uninsured fee reached an historic low in early 2023, but thousands and thousands of individuals nonetheless lack complete well being protection. Immigrants are disproportionately prone to be uninsured, which reduces their entry to well being care and will increase their danger of incurring medical debt. This greater fee of uninsurance stems from systemic inequalities, together with authorized limitations to inexpensive protection for noncitizens—particularly undocumented immigrants. Whereas state efforts to offer Medicaid-equivalent advantages to some populations of undocumented residents have helped broaden entry to protection, many low- and moderate-income undocumented residents stay with out inexpensive medical insurance choices.

In a latest publish for the Commonwealth Fund’s To the Level weblog, CHIR’s Justin Giovannelli and Rachel Schwab discover latest state actions to fill this hole. The authors focus on how federally funded protection applications presently exclude many immigrants and element the distinctive obstacles confronted by undocumented immigrants. The publish then describes how 4 states are increasing entry to personal protection for undocumented residents with incomes simply above the Medicaid eligibility threshold.

You possibly can learn the complete publish right here.