Good news. Undocumented immigrants can qualify for Medicaid provided that they meet certain specific qualifying factors, so what are the requirements to sign up to the healthcare system?

Medicaid aims to provides health insurance to low-income individuals and families and was established in 1965 by the Democratic Lyndon B. Johnson administration to cover essential health services, including hospital stays, doctor visits, and long-term care.

Medicaid serves people across all age groups with financial or health needs compared to Medicare, which is aimed at senior citizens primarily, and thus Medicaid offers crucial assistance to millions of Americans.

Undocumented immigrants in the U.S. face significant health care challenges due to limited access to medical services, often lacking private health insurance, making regular care unaffordable.

As well as aiming to avoid detection, undocumented immigrants can leave health concerns until the last possible moment before seeking help which can result in risk to other citizens around them.

Undocumented individuals face increased risks of untreated chronic conditions, mental health issues, and infectious diseases, resulting in more advanced diseases and higher health complications.

Which groups are eligible?

Generally, it will take around five years to begin to become eligible for Medicaid, although some groups such as refugees and asylum seekers can actually claim instantaneously if they need to do so.

So with non-citizens and undocumented immigrants eligible to claim the Medicaid program, what exactly are the conditions and groups permitted to do so, in order to access the crucial healthcare?

To beg with, select undocumented immigrants can claim benefits from the system such as asylum seekers and refugees, Cuban and Haitian people, abused non-citizens and the victims of trafficking.

Whilst lawful permanent residents (Green Card holders), conditional entrants (prior to 1980), indigenous tribes (including American Indians born in Canada) and Citizens from the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, and Palau can also collect Medicaid.