Category Archives: Immigration

Readers of our blog know that Haider, Alex and I have a longstanding interest in the intersection of health care law and immigration law.  That’s important for our blog, especially because of the needs of the immigrant community to be able to access critical healthcare services through the Medicaid program.  Over the past couple of years, we’ve written extensively about a regulation published by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in 2019 that’s known as the “public charge” rule. … More

UPDATED 2.25.2020 to reflect decision in Wolf v. Cook County, Illinois

Last summer, we wrote about the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) public charge rule.  As a reminder, that rule added some definition to the grounds of inadmissibility to the United States because of the likelihood that an applicant for an immigration benefit – such as a green card applicant or an individual seeking a visa to enter the United States – is likely to become a “public charge.”  We’re interested in that here at the Medicaid and the Law Blog because one of the factors that the final regulation would consider is whether the applicant has ever used Medicaid in the past or was likely to do so.… More

For much of the past two years, enrollment in the Medicaid and CHIP programs has been declining.  In May, 2017, enrollment in both programs was 74.6 million people.  As of May of this year, enrollment had declined by 2.5%, to 72.8 million.  This decline has applied across the board, in almost every state, for adults and for children.

Superficially, this might make sense;… More

Last Fall, we wrote about a proposed regulation issued by the Department of Homeland Security that involved one of our favorite topics:  the intersection of immigration and health care law.  My colleague Christian Springer and I have been following this proposed regulation very closely, and last week, it was issued in final form.  Because it has generated enormous press attention and because it has significant implications for the Medicaid program,… More

We have written in the past about the link between Medicaid and immigration.  Last October, we described a proposed rule issued by the Department of Homeland Security that would strengthen the “public charge” grounds for inadmissibility to the United States.  If this proposed rule is finalized, many non-U.S. citizens seeking immigration benefits (such as a visa, adjustment in status or naturalization) could see those benefits denied if they utilized public benefits such as Medicaid.… More

We have written recently about the interrelationship between the Medicaid program and U.S. immigration law.  Our post generated a lot of interest and now there’s a new development to report.

On October 10, 2018, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published a proposed regulation in the Federal Register that, if finalized, may have an effect on individuals seeking admission to the United States,… More

Some things in the world would be much simpler if they stayed separate, but we all can’t have what we want. As health care lawyers, Tom Barker and I are used to navigating complex and intersecting fields of law such as tax, contracts, fraud and abuse, insurance, and federal health care program coverage and reimbursement. But we also know a bit about immigration law from our pro bono work representing individuals seeking lawful status in the U.S.… More

As if eligibility for public health insurance programs in the United States weren’t confusing enough, the issues become even more complicated when the applicant isn’t a U.S. citizen. This presentation (created by Editor Tom for a class he teaches at George Washington University), with a few case studies, walks through some of the pathways to coverage and even points out a few surprising results!

Click here to download the slides.… More