Certain Non-Citizens Can Qualify for NY State Insurance Program
Posted Nov 23, 2001

The New York State Health Department has indicated that it will be extending Family Health Plus, its new subsidized health insurance program for the "working poor," to all non-citizens residing lawfully in the U.S. who meet the program's financial guidelines.

This policy is a response to a recent New York Court of Appeals case, Aliessa v. Novello, decided in 2001, in which the Court found that state-funded Medicaid benefits could not be denied to lawful permanent residents, under the N.Y. and U.S. Constitutions. New York had ceased providing Medicaid to permanent residents following the passage of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (Welfare Act), which drastically changed the rules for welfare programs.

Non-citizen eligibility for Medicaid is based on whether one is considered to be a "qualified" or a "nonqualified" foreign national. As outlined in the Aliessa decision, in general, permanent residents, asylees, refugees, Cuban or Haitian entrants, or victims of battering or extreme spousal / family cruelty, those with Withholding of Deportation and conditional residents are among those included as "qualified aliens." Most others are considered non-qualified.

The Welfare Act further restricts eligibility based upon whether the applicant was lawfully residing in the U.S. on or before August 22, 1996. However, New York has chosen not to apply this restriction with regard to its Family Health Plus program. The date that non-citizen coverage will begin under the Family Health Plus program has not yet been determined.