Health Care for Asylum Seekers
Health care in the United States can be very expensive. To help cover medical costs, many people in the United States get health insurance. What health insurance you can access is different depending on your immigration status and the state where you live. Accessing health insurance or medical care should not affect your asylum case.
Continue reading or click on the links below to learn about:
Health insurance from the government, through programs such as Medicaid, Medicare, the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), and state-based programs
Health insurance from a health care “exchange” or “marketplace,” websites where individuals can purchase health insurance and sometimes receive government financial assistance
What if I need medical care but I do not have health insurance?
For urgent medical care, you can still go to a hospital emergency room, even if you do not have insurance. You will most likely be asked to pay after your hospital visit. However, at some hospitals, you may be able to ask for “charity care” and get medical care for free or lower cost. If you are delivering a baby or you have a serious medical emergency, you may also be able to apply for Emergency Medicaid at the hospital. You can talk to a social worker or a hospital employee to see if you may qualify for charity care or Emergency Medicaid.
Also, some medical clinics offer free or low-cost care for people without insurance, including immigrants. Here are some resources to look for options in your area:
Visit this Free Clinic Directory and enter your zip code, or the city and state where you live, to find free and low-cost medical clinics in your area.
You can call 211 in many parts of the United States to get help finding local health care centers and other services.
This resource from United We Dream also contains links to free and low-cost clinics in different states.
For mental health services, you can visit the websites of Give an Hour or Latinx Therapists Action Network and enter your location. They will show lists of therapists who provide free or low-cost services to asylum seekers.
You can also try to search for community organizations in your area to ask for help.
Can asylum seekers access health insurance through an employer?
Yes – in general, if your employer offers health insurance to their employees, you can choose to get health insurance this way. Some employers offer health insurance to their employees, and others do not.
Can asylum seekers access government health insurance such as Medicaid or CHIP?
Maybe. Some asylum seekers can qualify for specific types of government health insurance. It depends on how much money you earn, where you live, what age you are, and whether you are pregnant. Each U.S. state has different rules.
Pregnant people and children
In some U.S. states, pregnant people and children who are seeking asylum can apply for government health insurance through government programs, usually called “CHIP” or “Medicaid.” To qualify, you have to show that the money you earn is below a certain amount.
Below is information about which U.S. states offer government health insurance to pregnant asylum seekers and children, as of January 2024. For more details and up-to-date information, you can view these maps and this chart.
States with health insurance for all pregnant people, regardless of immigration status:
Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Illinois, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Washington D.C., and Wisconsin
States with health insurance for pregnant people who qualify as “lawfully residing,” including people with a work permit based on seeking asylum:
Colorado, Delaware, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, West Virginia, and Wyoming
States with health insurance for all children, regardless of immigration status:
California, Connecticut, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont, Washington, and Washington D.C.
States with health insurance for children who qualify as “lawfully residing,” including children with a work permit based on seeking asylum, or children under 14 years old who applied for asylum at least 180 days ago:
Arkansas, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin
Please note: if your child was born in the United States, they are a U.S. citizen and are eligible for government health insurance in every state. U.S. citizen children are eligible for government health insurance regardless of the immigration status of their parents.
Asylum seekers who are 65 years of age or older
If you have a work permit based on seeking asylum, and you have been working in the United States for 10 years or longer, you may be able to apply for government health insurance called Medicare. Find more information about Medicare here.
Other groups of asylum seekers
Some states offer healthcare assistance to other asylum seekers and immigrants. This chart has information about the general health benefits available in each U.S. state. (Please note that this chart was written for attorneys and contains technical language.)
If you have questions about whether you might be eligible for government health benefits in your state, you can try to search for community organizations in your area to ask for more information.
Can asylum seekers buy health insurance through a national or state exchange (also called a “marketplace”)?
Maybe. The answer generally depends on whether you have a valid work permit or not. If you are eligible to buy health insurance on an exchange, you may also qualify for government financial assistance with the costs.
If you are an asylum seeker with a valid work permit, you should be able to buy health insurance on a national or state-based exchange. Asylum seekers under 14 years old whose asylum applications have been pending for at least 180 days can also use an exchange.
If you are an asylum seeker over age 14 and you do NOT have a valid work permit or other immigration status, you cannot use the health care exchange in most states.
As of 2023, an exception is Colorado. You can buy health insurance on the Colorado state exchange and apply for financial support regardless of your immigration status.
Beginning in 2024, residents of Washington state will also be able to use the state exchange regardless of immigration status.
If you have a different immigration status, you can check this government webpage for a complete list of who can use the national healthcare.gov exchange.
Visit these websites to learn more:
State health care exchanges: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, D.C. and Washington state.
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