Title: Health Coverage and Care of Undocumented Immigrants | KFF
Headings: Health Coverage and Care of Undocumented Immigrants
Health Coverage and Care of Undocumented Immigrants
Introduction
Overview of Undocumented Immigrants
Health Coverage for Undocumented Immigrants
Health Care for Undocumented Immigrants
Current Issues
Topics
Tags

Content: Uninsured Rates among the Nonelderly Population by Immigration Status, 2017
The higher uninsured rate among undocumented immigrants reflects limited access to health coverage options. Undocumented immigrants are not eligible to enroll in Medicare, Medicaid, or CHIP or to purchase coverage through the ACA Marketplaces. Under rules issued by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, individuals with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) status are not considered lawfully present and remain ineligible for these coverage options. 5 Since 2002, states have had the option to provide prenatal care to women regardless of immigration status by extending CHIP coverage to the unborn child. As of January 2019, 16 states had adopted this option. 6
Although most nonelderly undocumented immigrants live in a family with a full-time worker (Figure 3), they have limited access to employer-sponsored coverage. They are often employed in low-wage jobs and industries that are less likely to offer employer-sponsored coverage. Further, undocumented immigrants are more likely than other groups to be low-income, making it challenging to afford employer-sponsored coverage when it is available. Figure 3: Employment and Income among the Nonelderly Population by Citizenship Status, 2017
Current coverage among undocumented immigrants reflects a limited array of private coverage and some state- or locally-funded programs.