Can undocumented immigrants get health insurance?
Healthcare availability for undocumented immigrants in the United States
In the United States, while healthcare can, in theory, cost less for undocumented immigrants than for legal immigrants and other U.S. citizens, significant barriers to health care face undocumented immigrants, including low socioeconomic status, difficulty negotiating time off of work, lack of transportation and language barriers.[1] Having medical insurance coverage—whether private or through Medicaid—significantly influences the actual utilization of healthcare services.[2]
Medicaid
Nonimmigrants and unauthorized aliens are not eligible for most federal benefits, regardless of whether they are means tested, with notable exceptions for emergency services (e.g., Medicaid for emergency medical care), but states have the option to cover nonimmigrant and unauthorized aliens who are pregnant or who are children, and can meet the definition of "lawfully residing" in the United States. Special rules apply to several limited noncitizen categories: certain "cross-border" American Indians, Hmong/Highland Laotians, parolees and conditional entrants, and cases of abuse.