Pending citizenship, Medicaid and Pregnancy

[Diazy 10]

Hello,

Currently I'm in the process of acquiring my citizenship (waiting for the interview) and I have been a permanent resident for a little over 5 years.

I recently found out that I'm pregnant and income-wise I'm eligible for a Medi-Cal (Medicaid in California) for the pregnancy-related services. I keep reading the articles that say that a permanent resident can get a Pregnancy-related Medi-Cal. However none of them say if my sponsor (i.e. my ex-husband) would need to re-pay them.

On one hand, I would like to get Medi-Cal coverage as soon as possible since if I wait for 3-4 months I will need to pay at least 300 dollars for all procedures. I wish I could just save those money for my future baby.

On the other hand, I don't want my ex-husband to re-pay my bills and know about my pregnancy at all.

Does anyone know what to do in this situation? Should I wait for 3-4 months until I get my citizenship to apply for Medi-Cal? Or can I do it right now?

Edited September 20, 2014 by Diazy

[tuckin14 58]

Your ex should not be told what medical conditions, if any, you have. I don't know that authoritatively but it seems logical.

I don't know if they would charge him some kind of flat fee per month, or if it would depend on what level of medical services you use.

Maybe you should ask USCIS, although I'm taking a wild guess you could ask 10 people and get 4 different answers plus 6 "I don't know's."

[Umka36 781]

Is the ex husband the father of the baby? If not, why not ask the baby's father for financial assistance? Ultimately you will have to do whatever is in the best interest of yourself and not worry about the I-864 obligation of your ex-husband. FWIW, my wife's pregnancy cost more than $300 so I consider that a bargain.

[Diazy 10]

I can get money if I need it and the father of the baby is supportive. But neither I nor the father of baby have extra cash to spend especially on something which might be free to us. Thus, i would like to find either some experience in this situation or a document which stays if I'm eligible.

Yesterday I read this: "In states that choose to provide Medicaid and CHIP to children and pregnant women regardless of their date of entry, sponsors do not need to repay the cost of health services received by these groups. And, sponsors who are receiving food stamps do not need to repay the cost of food stamps received by the sponsored immigrant." Taken from http://www.nilc.org/sponsoredimms&bens-na-2009-08.html

However I'm still not sure if California is one of those states and I can't find any official information about it.

Regarding calling USCIS, I don't think that they're that helpful. All the times I called them they were just providing the information freely available on the internet.

[Diazy 10]

I just found this article CRITERIA FOR EMERGENCY AND PREGNANCY-RELATED SERVICES FOR PERSONS ENTITLED TO RESTRICTED BENEFITS ONLY, which states: "Medi-Cal coverage for pregnancy-related services is available to all aliens who meet all other Medi-Cal eligibility requirements. Routine prenatal care, labor and delivery, routine post-partum care, and family planning are classified as pregnancy-related services."

Thus, I 'm confused:

- all articles from USCIS, which I can find, say that the sponsor doesn't need to pay back any pregnancy-related Medicaid in SOME states. (see the link in the post above)

- all articles from Medi-Cal, which I can find, say that any alien is eligible for Pregnancy-related Medi-Cal. (no indication of any re-payment)

However I can't find any article, which would clearly state that the sponsor will and will not need to pay back any pregnancy-related Medicaid in California.

[Diazy 10]

I actually found a confirmation that I'm eligible for Medi-Cal and the sponsor doesn't need to repay it because it is not a public benefit and the funding comes from CHIP (Children's Health Insurance Program). I found this website really helpful: http://www.nilc.org/table_ovrw_fedprogs.html

I guess I'm saving more than $300 for my future baby.

[Villanelle 4,121]

Dear- please dont fret so much during your pregnancy. The less stress you have the better and the more medical the sooner the better.

Its rare sponsors get asked for repayment. (search on here for 864/divorce/enforcement/sue, suing etc) and youll see.

I dont have time to write you a lenghty post, but all the info you want is on the site you were on, you were just a few clicks off-\

http://www.nilc.org/sponsoredimms&bens-ca.html

Which Public Benefits Will a Sponsor Need to Repay?

Sponsors who sign enforceable affidavits of support (Form I-864) may need to repay “means-tested public benefits” used by the immigrant after he or she becomes a lawful permanent resident. The only federal benefits that are considered “means-tested” are: Supplemental Security Income (SSI), food stamps, CalWORKs, Medi-Cal (nonemergency), and Healthy Families. Most immigrants whose sponsors signed enforceable affidavits of support have not been eligible for these federally funded programs, due to a five-year bar (waiting period) on these services. California provides benefits to some of these immigrants using state funds. But California has not decided which state-funded benefits a sponsor may need to repay and cannot ask sponsors to repay benefits used before it makes this decision. States are not required to go after sponsors, and to our knowledge, no government agency in California has sought reimbursement from a sponsor up to now.

Do Sponsors Who Sign Enforceable Affidavits Need to Repay Every Benefit?

No. Sponsors will not need to repay the cost of emergency Medi-Cal or other emergency medical care, immunizations or testing and treatment for communicable disease symptoms (outside of Medi-Cal), short-term noncash emergency aid, school breakfast or school lunch, Head Start, Student Financial Aid, Job Training Partnership Act programs, certain noncash services that are available regardless of income, or many other programs that have not been named as "means-tested" benefits. And sponsors who are receiving food stamps do not need to repay the cost of food stamps received by the sponsored immigrant.

[Diazy 10]

Thank you, Capri!