By skyforbes My parents are both over 65 years old. They are permanent residents here in the United States. My dad immigrated last year (April 2024) and my mom immigrated in December 2016. She is not eligible to become a US citizen yet because she had been traveling in and out of the country since then. That’s not my scope of conversation for this thread, but mentioning here in case any one asks.
I applied for regular TX Medicaid via yourtexasbenefits.com (for both of them) which was denied earlier this year. When I contacted 211 via phone, I was told to submit a “long term care” application with the Star Plus Home and Community based services program. I was told this is for people who don’t qualify for regular Medicaid. I went ahead and submitted a new application for this. Yesterday, I was told that this new application was also denied. When I called 211 to ask for the reason for denial, I was told that my parents do not have work history in the country (40 quarters). However, the agent on the phone did not feel confident about this, she checked with her supervisor but said she was “confused”.
That was a little surprising for me; I thought work history applies to MEDICARE and not Medicaid. I’m not sure if that is the real reason for case denial. Also, I don’t understand how an immigrant can show evidence of 10 years (40 quarters) of work history. Can anyone shed some light on this, please? We’ve been struggling to get health insurance for them for a VERY long time. They do not have any kind of insurance and we cannot afford expensive monthly premiums through the market place. Any tips will be appreciated!