Help with medical bills for immigrants without legal immigration status

You’ll learn about medical assistance programs in Washington open to low-income immigrants who don’t have legal immigration status. You still may have to meet other requirements to be eligible for these programs. 

These programs don’t require you to have legal immigration status:

• All children up to age 19 who have low income are eligible for free medical coverage (“Washington Apple Health”) in Washington State. There are no immigration status requirements for this coverage. 

• Low-income pregnant people are eligible for medical coverage, until one year after the pregnancy ends

• Emergency Medicaid for treatment of emergency medical conditions in a hospital

• Healthcare insurance through the new Apple Health expansion - Certain immigrants can apply for a special insurance called the Apple Health Expansion. Undocumented immigrants can apply. Lawfully present non-qualified immigrants can only apply if they are not in an employment authorized immigrant category. Lawfully present qualified immigrants can’t apply. There are other eligibility requirements. You should apply for these benefits as soon as possible because the program is limited. Find out if the program is still accepting applications. 

• Treatment for cancer, benign life-threatening tumors, or dialysis 

• You can buy medical and dental insurance through the state’s Health Benefit Exchange. If you have low income, you can get help to pay for insurance coverage.

Yes, if your family’s income is below 215% of the Federal Poverty Level. 

Families with incomes between 215% and 317% of the Federal Poverty Level must pay a small premium. 

It covers treatment of certain emergency medical conditions in a hospital. 

Emergency Medicaid doesn’t cover services or treatment that you get:

• in a clinic
• after the hospital discharges you
• at the same time as the emergency treatment but that is unrelated to the emergency condition

You can get coverage under the Emergency Medicaid program for up to 3 months before the date you apply. This means you can apply after getting the emergency treatment. But it’s best to apply as soon as you can. While you’re at the hospital, you can ask hospital staff for help with the application. 

You can get your bill reduced if your bill is from a hospital and you have a low income. 

You can get treatment for a low or reduced fee from a community health clinic. 

Yes, it’s generally very safe to apply. State and federal laws protect the privacy of the information you put on your application. Your information shouldn’t be shared with immigration officials. 

You can also choose to apply for benefits for other family members, such as your children, and still choose not to apply for yourself. Then you won’t have to give information about your own immigration status. You may have to give proof of your family’s income. 

No. Medical assistance is safe to use. It won’t hurt your immigration case. The only exception is if the government pays for your long-term care in an institution, like a nursing home. 

Immigration officials won’t consider any benefits your family members use, including medical coverage for your children. 

Maybe. If you’ve filed an immigration application with Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) you may be eligible for other programs, even if USCIS hasn’t decided about your application yet. 

You can ask for an administrative hearing to appeal the denial. Try to talk to a lawyer.