Despite California’s expansion of Medicaid to all state residents including undocumented immigrants from January 1, many are still hesitating to apply, fearing deportation or denial of permanent residency.
The state and county authorities have been encouraging all immigrants to apply for Medicaid, saying that their status will remain protected.
“Even though Medicaid eligibility has been expanded, the number of applications has been low,” said Louise McCarthy, President of Community Clinic Association of LA County. “Especially for undocumented immigrants, there are still cases of people avoiding going to the hospital even when they are sick because they think that getting Medicaid will reveal their status and lead to deportation.”
This apprehension originates from the Trump administration’s reinstatement of the public charge rule, which allowed for the dismissal of green card applications if the applicant had received federally funded social benefits like Medicaid or CalFresh (formerly known as food stamps) for over 12 months.
At the time, undocumented immigrants, as well as green card applicants and legal visa holders, avoided applying for Medicaid for fear of being penalized when applying for citizenship or re-entering the United States.
This public charge rule was suspended under the Biden administration, but many low-income immigrants and seniors are still unaware of it and are often left in information blind spots due to English language barriers.
“I’ve been undocumented for 15 years, and I was afraid of being deported, so during the pandemic, I just endured being very sick,” said Grace Han, 70, who applied for Medicaid at LA General Medical Center (formerly LAC+USC Medical Center) on January 12. “Now I feel better knowing that if I get sick, I can get the medical treatment I need.”
“We’ve seen an increase in inquiries from undocumented residents about enrolling in Medicaid, but there are still people who are concerned about whether public charge rules apply to them,” said Jaehee Lee, External Affairs & Communications Specialist at Kheir Clinic. “They especially worry that their information could be turned over to immigration services and they could be deported.”
“Medi-Cal is funded by the state government. It does not share personal information with immigration authorities,” said Lee, urging undocumented immigrants in need of medical benefits to enrolling as soon as possible.
Under California’s law (SB 184), residents aged 26 and 49 with incomes at or below 138 percent of the federal poverty level (annual earnings of $20,121 for a single person and $27,214 for a family of two) to apply for Medi-Cal regardless of their immigration status. The state previously offered Medicaid to people under 25 or over 50, therefore enabling Medicaid virtually available for all California residents starting this year.
“Through Medi-Cal, you can receive a wide range of benefits, mostly free of charge, from primary care, including routine checkups, screenings, immunizations, and prescription drugs, to specialty care, such as dental, optometry, mental health, acupuncture, and herbal medicine,” said Celia Valdez, Director of Outreach and Education at MCHA, in a press conference organized by Ethnic Media Services on January 11. “Once you apply for Medi-Cal, it can take anywhere from a few weeks to several months to get approved and issued a card, so we urge anyone who needs care to apply as soon as possible.”
BY NICOLE CHANG, HOONSIK WOO [chang.nicole@koreadaily.com]
