Research, Research, Research!

Dear Allies,

This week, we are sharing a ton of new research and articles on health access & coverage for immigrants and their families, including a very special article from the late Dr. Leah Zallman. We also have a new brief from our partners at NHeLP, where they explore Medicaid coverage and eligibility for immigrants. 

In line with the new research we are sharing, we want to uplift and encourage you to share our upcoming Congressional Briefing, which will cover how the chilling effect of the public charge rule exacerbated economic and health insecurities and inequalities throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Keep reading to register and learn more!

New research from the Urban Institute reports that low-income immigrant families were hit hard by the economic crisis in 2020, and have experienced significant hardships including not having enough food to feed their families, not seeking needed medical care because of costs, and difficulties paying for housing and utilities. But despite these hardships, 1 out of 4 adults in low-income immigrant families avoided government benefit programs or other assistance because of immigration concerns.

The Protecting Immigrant Families coalition is holding an open congressional briefing on the report’s findings, implications, and proposed solutions on July 13 at 1pm ET. Attendees will also have the opportunity to hear from the International Community Health Services and Hunger Free Colorado about the barriers to care faced by immigrants and their families -- and what policy change would mean for the health and wellbeing of communities across the country. Learn more and register here. Please share with your networks and congressional delegations!

To be eligible for full-scope Medicaid coverage, an individual must be a United States citizen or national or hold a satisfactory immigration status. Due to the complexity of the relevant immigration statutes and the flexibility states have to decide which groups of immigrants to cover, there is significant confusion about immigrants’ eligibility for Medicaid coverage.

This new brief from NHeLP outlines which groups of immigrants states must cover, may cover, and cannot cover with federal Medicaid funding, explains how states verify applicants’ immigration status and calculate immigrants’ income for purposes of Medicaid eligibility, and answers other common questions about Medicaid coverage.

Health Affairs recently published a special immigrant-focused edition titled Borders, Immigrants & Health. The journal is full of commentary pieces, research articles, datagraphics, and more. We’ve highlighted a few key pieces below:

• Immigrant Essential Workers Likely Avoided Medicaid And SNAP Because Of A Change To The Public Charge Rule: The final piece of public charge research by the late Dr. Leah Zallman, of the PIF Research Working Group. This article shows that the public charge regulation likely deterred essential workers from seeking needed care and aid during the COVID-19 pandemic.
   
• Noncitizen Children Face Higher Health Harms Compared With Their Siblings Who Have US Citizen Status: Takes a look at the relationship between citizenship and access to public insurance programs. Finds that lacking citizenship increased a child’s risk of being uninsured and lowered by 26 percentage points the chances that they would have Medicaid or Children’s Health Insurance Program coverage.
   
• Restoring An Inclusionary Safety Net For Children In Immigrant Families: A Review Of Three Social Policies: This article explores restrictions on access to three specific safety-net programs, including public charge and the 5-year bar. The researchers also lay out an agenda for repair of the safety net for kids in immigrant families, including 8 policy recommendations to restore equity.

• Sacramento Bee – California policymakers reach a budget deal that expands Medi-Cal access for undocumented adults ages 50 and over.

• GOVERNING – On Colorado’s “transformative” package of immigrant-inclusive legislative reforms.

• Star-Ledger – NJ Gov. Murphy suggests more pandemic relief for immigrant families may be on the way, as activists’ protest shuts down the New Jersey Turnpike.

In Solidarity,

Eddie Carmona & Renato Rocha, on behalf of the PIF Team

Visit us at https://protectingimmigrantfamilies.org/