Can I apply for Medicaid?

[aurora07 6]

I went to an insurance office this afternoon because my husband wanted to apply Medicaid or Family Health plus for my son and him. When I asked about myself, the rep said I can apply too. Now my mom-in-law who co-sponsored me is a bit hesitant because she signed the AOS saying she may be asked to pay back the amount of government any public funded benefits that I get. I've tried searching VJ and some say it's okay because the contract was between the sponsor and the federal govt, not the state. And some states allow people like me to get medicaid.

Please help! We're from NY...if that helps.

[LIFE'SJOURNEY 970]

Your MIL is correct, the state could make her pay back any benefits that you receive as of result of Medicaid.

[Rebecca Jo 1,962]

Depends on what you were applying for.

Some states offer an insurance plan for low-income families that is not connected to Medicaid. Those programs are not a means-tested benefit and you can certainly take advantage of such a plan.

[SophWeb 25]

"Legal permanent residents (immigrants with green cards) are ineligible for Medicaid or SCHIP during their first five years in the U.S. After five years, they become eligible for Medicaid and SCHIP if they meet the programs’ other eligibility requirements."

and then goes on to say -

"Many legal immigrants, especially those who come to the U.S. to be reunited with family members, have sponsors who pledge to support them during their transition to the U.S. Federal law requires that a portion of the sponsor’s income and resources be included in determining Medicaid eligibility for the immigrant regardless of whether the sponsor shares any income with the immigrant. In effect, sponsor deeming can push an immigrant over a state’s income or asset limits for Medicaid,

even when they are very poor and have insufficient resources to pay for care."

This is the source - www.kff.org/medicaid/upload/7492.pdf

Basically, if it's a means-tested program, your safest bet is to leave it alone. USCIS forces you to provide a sponsor to prove you won't enroll in these low-income programs.

Your mother-in-law has a legitimate concern - if you went into the program, then the Government is well within its right to force her pay back the cost of your medicaid assistance.

I'm sorry

[foxxiroxxi 2]

hi!

i just moved to the state of new york and had some health related issues so had to go to the hospital. was sort of an emergency.

i got left with a $1400 bill.

the financial aid department with in the hospital set up an appointment with me and we filled out a medicaid application.

i asked her about the 5 year permanent resident thing. (i've read in multiple different forums that you must reside in the US for 5 years after you recieve your green card to qualify in the first place. i just got my card august of 2010).

she said she has never heard of it and just told me to go ahead and try applying.

i just got a mail the other day saying that i was approved for medicaid.

i have no clue how i was approved in the first place since i've only been a permanent resident for 6 months.

i'm not sure if its because the state of new york has several different programs that are medicaid but has variations.

like the state of new york has a PCAP program for pregnant women regardless of immigration status. u can be a citizen, a legal resident or illegal resident, they will cover you, and my guess was that you dont get hooked under the "means-tested benefit" b/c it wouldn't be right for them to bill the legal residents later, when they can't do that with the illegals.

now my question would be, where or who can i call to ask if me using this medicaid would get me stuck with the "means-tested benefit" thing and then unfortunatley have my husband stuck with the huge bills later?

thanx in advance.

[foxxiroxxi 2]

sry for posting twice, just adding some information i found just now.

http://***removed***/forum/showthread.php?t=9724

so are there similar programs like this in the state of new york that will get me off the means tested benefit hook?

[foxxiroxxi 2]

i apologize again for posting so much, but i keep finding more information that may help those that are also looking into medicaid in NYS.

New York State Medicaid is not considered a public charge. It is what it is. As for changes in policies, I don't believe it is going to happen. None of the politicians would do it considering their next elections because immigrant community is a huge chunk of constituency.

As of my knowledge, people who have received means-tested benefits are eligible for naturalization. It is sponsor, who can be asked to cover expenses or sued if he is not willing to pay.

it is from this thread

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/211828-medicaid-for-parent-immigrant-in-new-york/

hope this helps.

[SophWeb 25]

hi!

i just moved to the state of new york and had some health related issues so had to go to the hospital. was sort of an emergency.

i got left with a $1400 bill.

the financial aid department with in the hospital set up an appointment with me and we filled out a medicaid application.

i asked her about the 5 year permanent resident thing. (i've read in multiple different forums that you must reside in the US for 5 years after you recieve your green card to qualify in the first place. i just got my card august of 2010).

she said she has never heard of it and just told me to go ahead and try applying.

i just got a mail the other day saying that i was approved for medicaid.

i have no clue how i was approved in the first place since i've only been a permanent resident for 6 months.

i'm not sure if its because the state of new york has several different programs that are medicaid but has variations.

like the state of new york has a PCAP program for pregnant women regardless of immigration status. u can be a citizen, a legal resident or illegal resident, they will cover you, and my guess was that you dont get hooked under the "means-tested benefit" b/c it wouldn't be right for them to bill the legal residents later, when they can't do that with the illegals.

now my question would be, where or who can i call to ask if me using this medicaid would get me stuck with the "means-tested benefit" thing and then unfortunatley have my husband stuck with the huge bills later?

thanx in advance.

What did you tell them was your income? To qualify for NY state-medicaid you must not make above $10,595 for a two person household, so I'm assuming you told them that your current income was below that. If you did, that's fraud. You have to declare that you have sponsor. And your sponsor would have had to prove they make at least $18,212 (for a two person household), pushing you over the income limit and making you ineligible.

It may not make you a public charge, but it is still means-tested, and whoever signed your Affidavit of Support promised to support you so you wouldn't take advantage of these welfare benefits.

"U.S. Federal law requires that a portion of the sponsor’s income and resources be included in determining Medicaid eligibility for the immigrant regardless of whether the sponsor shares any income with the immigrant. In effect, sponsor deeming can push an immigrant over a state’s income or asset limits for Medicaid, even when they are very poor and have insufficient resources to pay for care."

[Brother Hesekiel 2,236]

You can get a lot of things these days. Heck, illegal immigrants get a lot of things these days, which is not a big deal as they are illegal to begin with. However, if a lawful permanent resident does unlawful things, such as applying for means tested benefits, he or she jeopardizes their status.

The other day I read about an LPR following the call for jury duty. She showed the court drone her Green Card and asked if she is really required to serve as a juror. The drone said yes, she believed the drone, she served, and now the judgment made in that trial is invalid, and her chances of becoming a US citizen have gone up in smoke for as long as she lives.

[Myopia 93]

I went to an insurance office this afternoon because my husband wanted to apply Medicaid or Family Health plus for my son and him. When I asked about myself, the rep said I can apply too. Now my mom-in-law who co-sponsored me is a bit hesitant because she signed the AOS saying she may be asked to pay back the amount of government any public funded benefits that I get. I've tried searching VJ and some say it's okay because the contract was between the sponsor and the federal govt, not the state. And some states allow people like me to get medicaid.

Please help! We're from NY...if that helps.

You arent able to get medicaid. There are places in NYC where you can see a doctor for free still. When I was sick I went to a doctor who saw those with no insurance. Depending on what your problem is you can get seen but pay out of pocket for prescriptions if the doctor doesnt have any of the medicine available.

[foxxiroxxi 2]

What did you tell them was your income? To qualify for NY state-medicaid you must not make above $10,595 for a two person household, so I'm assuming you told them that your current income was below that. If you did, that's fraud. You have to declare that you have sponsor. And your sponsor would have had to prove they make at least $18,212 (for a two person household), pushing you over the income limit and making you ineligible.

It may not make you a public charge, but it is still means-tested, and whoever signed your Affidavit of Support promised to support you so you wouldn't take advantage of these welfare benefits.

"U.S. Federal law requires that a portion of the sponsor’s income and resources be included in determining Medicaid eligibility for the immigrant regardless of whether the sponsor shares any income with the immigrant. In effect, sponsor deeming can push an immigrant over a state’s income or asset limits for Medicaid, even when they are very poor and have insufficient resources to pay for care."

at the time we applied for AoS we were above the minimum income level. i do not work. my husbands income dropped significantly when his work changed the pay to commision only.

since then we moved back to his mothers home because we could not afford to live on our own. we have managed to live on our own for nearly 4 years but with the bad economy and what not it wasn't working out anymore. we moved therefore he had to quit his old job and get a new one. currently he is only part time, makes less than 1000 a month, and no benefits.

after 8 years of being together and being married for 3 years and all the stress and what not, we have grown distant and so we are seperated for now.

i personally have zero income. staying at a friends place(in nys. husband lives in west coast) whom provides me room and board. the medicaid worker told me that i needed a letter from my friend saying that she provided room and board for me b/c i have no personal income/job.

just fallen into hard times and i was put in a life threatening situation and had to get medical help.

best i can do is get some help with the system for now, look for a job that provides benefits or get paid enough so somehow i can manage the medical bills and stop bumming off the system asap.

i will call my medicaid worker and ask about my situation and if that changes my medicaid status. if it is an issue then well, i will have to make a payment plan with the hospital to pay off the bills i got.

Edited February 24, 2011 by foxxiroxxi

[SophWeb 25]

at the time we applied for AoS we were above the minimum income level. i do not work. my husbands income dropped significantly when his work changed the pay to commision only.

since then we moved back to his mothers home because we could not afford to live on our own. we have managed to live on our own for nearly 4 years but with the bad economy and what not it wasn't working out anymore. we moved therefore he had to quit his old job and get a new one. currently he is only part time, makes less than 1000 a month, and no benefits.

after 8 years of being together and being married for 3 years and all the stress and what not, we have grown distant and so we are seperated for now.

i personally have zero income. staying at a friends place(in nys. husband lives in west coast) whom provides me room and board. the medicaid worker told me that i needed a letter from my friend saying that she provided room and board for me b/c i have no personal income/job.

just fallen into hard times and i was put in a life threatening situation and had to get medical help.

best i can do is get some help with the system for now, look for a job that provides benefits or get paid enough so somehow i can manage the medical bills and stop bumming off the system asap.

i will call my medicaid worker and ask about my situation and if that changes my medicaid status. if it is an issue then well, i will have to make a payment plan with the hospital to pay off the bills i got.

I'm very sorry to hear about your current situation and my thoughts and prayers go out to you.

That being said, you are still not entitled to medicaid. Even though are and your husband are not making sufficient income, he is still legally responsible for financially supporting you because he signed the Affidavit of Support, which stays in effect for about 10 years.

"best i can do is get some help with the system for now"

As you are not a US citizen, you are not entitled to receive help from that the majority of the system, I'm sorry to say.

If any program in that system is means-testing, and you take advantage of it, the petitioner is responsible for repaying the cost of those benefits to the agency that provided them. If you do not repay the debt, the agency can sue the petitioner in court to get the money owed.

When you call and speak to the medicaid officer, get her to confirm that the support you are receiving (medicaid) is indeed means-tested. Then you will know for sure that you are not entitled to it and your husband could/will end up paying all that money back to the government.

I'm sorry if this sounds harsh, but I would hate for your future in the U.S. to be jeopordized by this, or your husband be sued by the government. I also have no medical insurance (as I have not begun work yet and we cannot afford it on one income), and so I feel you pain; if I were to be put in a life threatening situation and needed medical assistance, I would be stuck with large bills too.