By skyforbes 
Today’s featured CRS article, “Noncitizen Eligibility for Medicaid and CHIP,” outlines the rules that govern noncitizen access to these healthcare programs. Access and eligibility are affected by immigration status, arrival date, and residency duration. Lawful permanent residents, refugees, and certain paroles may qualify, but some face restrictions like a five-year waiting period. Those who are unqualified are largely ineligible except in specific cases like emergency medical care or prenatal services. Additionally, recent policy changes have improved Medicaid access for citizens of the Freely Associated States. This article falls under the issue area of Health. From the CRS:
Medicaid, authorized in Title XIX of the Social Security Act (SSA), is a joint federal-state program that finances the delivery of primary and acute medical services — as well as long-term services and supports — to a diverse, low-income population, including children, pregnant women, adults, individuals with disabilities, and people aged 65 and older. CHIP, authorized in SSA Title XXI, provides health insurance coverage to low-income, uninsured children in families with incomes above applicable Medicaid income standards, as well as to certain pregnant women. Participation in both programs is voluntary for states, though all states, the District of Columbia (DC), and the U.S. territories (i.e., American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands [CNMI], Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands) choose to participate.
Interested readers can find the full article here.
Congressional Communities is featuring one Congressional Research Service (CRS) article per day in an effort to share with our readers the wealth of information that the CRS makes readily available.