Medicaid participation by legal immigrants

A proposal by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security is discouraging participation in Medicaid and other government safety-net programs. A proposed Homeland Security regulation would establish new criteria for determining whether individuals seeking admission into the U.S. might eventually become “public charges”:  people who would depend on public resources to meet their needs rather than the resources of friends, family, sponsors, or private organizations or be able to provide for themselves or their families.  Among those criteria are past use of government aid programs and current income and health status. Since the regulation was proposed last October, many legal immigrants, [...]