Immigrant access to medical assistance in Pennsylvania

Medical Assistance in Pennsylvania
Staff Training Part II:
Immigrant Access
to Medical Assistance
The Health, Education and Legal Assistance Project:
A Medical-Legal Partnership between
Widener University School and Law and CrozerKeystone Healthy Start

(HELP: MLP-CKHS)

Immigrant Access to Medical Assistance
• Publicly-funded health care coverage for immigrants in
Pennsylvania is a complex matter.
• Unlike other populations which may have a singular
publicly-funded insurance meeting all of their
needs, immigrants often have to rely on a patchwork
quilt of different programs to meet their health care
needs.


Three types of care that all individuals need to access:
– Primary & preventative care
– Emergency & specialty care
– Long-term & chronic care

Medical Assistance recap:
– Medicaid (“Medical Assistance” in Pennsylvania) is a
federal program to provide health coverage to certain
low income individuals and families.
– Medicaid is administered by states using state funds
for which states receive federal matching funds.
– The state agency which administers Medical
Assistance is the Department of Public Welfare
(DPW), at their "welfare" offices also known as
County Assistance Offices (CAO).

Generally speaking, to be eligible for any kind of
Medical Assistance an individual must meet four
requirements:
(1) Be a Pennsylvania State Resident
(2) Fit into a “Category” of Medical Assistance
(3) Meet the Income and Asset Requirement for the MA
category; and
(4) Have a “Qualified” Immigration Status

(1) Pennsylvania State Residence…
–

…has nothing to do with legal permanent residency
as it is used in immigration law

–

…simply requires the individual have a
Pennsylvania address where they “intend to
remain, and maintain a continuous physical
presence in the state, except for a temporary
absence.”

(1) Pennsylvania State Residence
– It doesn’t matter how short or long a time period the
individual has lived in Pennsylvania.
– Individuals are not required to have a “permanent
address” or a “fixed residence.” Exceptions exist to
accommodate individuals, such as the homeless, who
have no such address.
– Migrant or seasonal workers and their families
employed in Pennsylvania meet the residency
requirement unless they already receive Medicaid
based on residence in another state.

(2) Fitting into an MA Category
– This is often the most confusing MA requirement. MA
is not just one program; it is a family of over a dozen
programs each covering a very specific population
(such as pregnant women, children, the elderly, etc.).
Each specific population is known as a category.
• So there is a category for pregnant women, a category for
children, a category for adults age 65 and older, etc.

– If you do no fit into any category, then you are not
eligible for Medical Assistance, regardless of your
circumstances.

– Category is important, therefore, because everyone
must fit into a specified category to be eligible for MA.
– Category is also important for at least two more
reasons:
• First, different categories can have different eligibility
requirements, so this may impact your participant’s eligibility
for MA.
• Second, different categories may have different benefits, so
this may impact what health care your participant can
access.

– The nine most important categories for immigrants:
• Children Age 18 and Under
• Adults
–
–
–
–
–
–
–

Permanent disability
Temporary disability
Health sustaining medication
Pregnant women
Breast or cervical cancer treatment
adults 21-58 working 100 hours or more per month
Adults age 59-64

• Adults age 65 and older

– The most important categories for immigrants:
• Children Age 18 and Under
– Being a child is its own category of eligibility!
Therefore, children automatically fit into a category if they
are age 18 and younger.
– This category has high income limits (which vary slightly
depending upon the age of the child), no asset limit, and
excellent benefits.


– The most important categories for immigrants: Adults
• Permanent Disability: This category has high income and
asset limits and excellent benefits. Disability can easily be
established by having a doctor complete an Employability
Assessment Form (“EAF”).
• Temporary Disability: In practice, this is the most important
category for immigrant advocates, since many immigrants
are working-age adults who fit into no other category and will
only come into the health care system if they are injured.
– Temporary Disability for 12 months or less: this
subcategory has very low income and asset limits and
limited benefits.
– Temporary Disability for 12 months or less: this
subcategory has a much higher income limit and better
medical benefits (equivalent to Permanent
Disability, above).

• Health Sustaining Medication: Immigrants who need a
health sustaining medication to be able to work (regardless of
whether they are actually working) can be eligible by having
a doctor complete an extremely simple health sustaining
medications form.
• This category has very low income and asset limits and
limited benefits.

• Pregnant Women:
– Note that a pregnant woman is counted as two people for
the purpose of income limits.
– There are some special rules around confirmation of
pregnancy and application for this category.
– This category has high income limits, no asset limit, and
excellent benefits.

• Breast or Cervical Cancer Treatment:
– Women who are in any kind of treatment for breast or
cervical cancer are eligible in this category.
– This category has high income limits, no asset limit, and
excellent benefits.

• Adults 21-58 Working At Least 100 Hours Per Month: This is
another important category to obtain coverage for working adult
immigrants who may not be eligible in any other category.
– This is one of two “MNO” (Medically Needy Only) categories, which is a
special and confusing type of “spend-down” category.
– Bills and income are reviewed over a six-month period, and individuals
with higher income will need to pay a portion of their six months’
income to get coverage for the six month period.
– This category has low income and asset limits, and very limited
coverage (for example, no prescription coverage or medical
equipment). It is generally only used to cover hospital bills in situations
where other categories are not available.
– Due to the required six month enrollment and the very limited
benefits, MNO categories should be a last resort.

• Adults Age 59-64: This is the other “MNO” category.
– Adults age 59-64 are eligible for this category if they
meet the strict income/resource limits.
– This category has low income and asset limits, and very
limited coverage (for example, no prescription coverage
or medical equipment). It is generally only used to cover
hospital bills in situations where other categories are not
available.

– The most important categories for immigrants:
• Older Adults Age 65 and Older
– Being an older adult age 65 or over is its own category of
eligibility! Individuals age 65 or over automatically fit into
a category.
– This category has high income and asset limits and
excellent benefits!

(3) Meeting income and asset limits
– Most MA programs have a limit as to how much income and
assets you can have to be eligible.
– “Income” is the money that your client receives every month.
• From sources such as employment, pensions, child
support, government benefits, etc.

– “Assets” are the resources your client has.
• Such as savings and checking accounts, retirement accounts, the
cash value of life insurance policies, etc.

– The following are not counted as assets:
• The home your client lives in
• one automobile, and
• your client’s personal possessions (clothing, jewelry, furniture, etc.).

– One of the most confusing things about Medical
Assistance is that there is not one MA income and asset
limit - each of the categories mentioned has its own
income and asset limits!
– Income and asset limits also generally vary depending on
household size.
– The income limits are increased at the beginning of every
calendar year.
– There are income deductions available such that
sometimes part of your client’s income may not be counted
against him/her.

– In some categories individuals who are over the income
limit can “spend-down” (pay a portion of the income) to
become eligible for MA in that category.
– There are two types of spend-downs:
• a monthly Non-Money Payment (“NMP”) spend-down used in
many categories, and
• a six-month spend-down used in the two Medically Needy
Only (“MNO”) categories.

– Since the vast majority of immigrants are hard-working
individuals, and thus earning income which may put them
over low income limits, spend-down is a crucial way to get
immigrants eligible.

– Spend-down example #1: NMP Spend-down
• Julia fits in the category for temporary disability of less than a
year, but her income is $400 per month, and thus is over the
$205 per month income limit (by $195). Her medical bill for
appendix surgery on 11/15/2008 is $8,000. She applies for
MA on 11/25/2008. Since she is over the income limit by
$195, the first $195 of the bill is left in Julia’s name. Medical
Assistance pays the remaining $7,805 of the bill.

– Spend-down example #2: MNO Spend-down
• Jose fits in the MNO category for 21-58 year old working 100
hours or more. He applies for MA in November 2008 and has
a $20,000 bill for a hospitalization for November. He earns
$500 a month at his job. In the six month period from
November through April Jose’s income will be $3,000. The
monthly income limit for MNO is $425, and thus is $2,550
over six months. For the six months Jose is thus over the
income limit by $450. The first $450 of the bill will remain in
Jose’s name, and Medical Assistance will pay the remaining
$19,550.

– Many categories allow retroactive coverage such that
you can get coverage for bills from the three months prior
to the month you submit the application in.
• This is very important to know since many immigrant
applications happen after a trip to an ER.

– Despite the frequent possibility of retroactive
coverage, however, it is always recommended to get the
application in the same month that treatment begins
whenever possible.

– Retroactive coverage example #1:
• Anita is 8 years old and thus eligible in the category for
children. She has bills from doctor visits in July and August
2008. On November 25, 2008 an advocate submits an MA
application for her. Her family is already below the income
limit, so no spend-down is needed. The application is
approved on December 10, 2008. Anita is eligible for
retroactive coverage for the 3 months (August, September, &
October) prior to the month of application (November).
Therefore, all of her doctor bills from August will be paid, but
her bills from July will not be paid. (If she had applied for MA
in October or earlier, all of her bills would have been paid.)

– Retroactive coverage example #2: The “You Can’t
Have Your Cake and Eat It Too” Rule
• We have already seen that an immigrant can
sometimes use an NMP spend-down to become eligible
if they are over the income limit. We have seen that
retroactive coverage may be available for bills from the
three prior months.
• However, you cannot use an NMP spend-down and
retroactive coverage at the same time.

– Retroactive coverage example #2: The “You Can’t
Have Your Cake and Eat It Too” Rule
• Example: Miguel goes to the ER in October and has a large
bill. His income is only $50 over the income limit, so he wants
to do a small spend-down to get eligible. He applies for MA in
November, and thus October is well within the three prior
months for retroactive coverage. However, Miguel is not
eligible, because he can not use a spend-down and get
retroactive coverage at the same time.
– If Miguel had applied for MA in October he could have done a
spend-down and gotten the bill covered… or…
– If Miguel’s income was below the income limit, he wouldn’t
need to use a spend-down, and he could use retroactive
coverage to get the October bill covered in November.

(4) “Qualified” Immigrant Status
– “Qualified” immigrant status is the status an immigrant
needs to have to be fully eligible for Medical Assistance
the way any U.S. Citizen would be.
• Note: This same “qualified” immigrant status standard is also
used for immigrant eligibility in the CHIP program.

– U.S. born citizens, naturalized citizens, legal permanent
residents (LPR), and numerous other "qualified"
immigrant statuses are all eligible for full Medical
Assistance.
• Immigrants who are not eligible for full Medical Assistance
are eligible for Emergency Medical Assistance (EMA), to be
discussed later.

– Children born in the United States are full citizens and
are entitled to full Medical Assistance if
eligible, regardless of the immigration status of their
parents.
– Puerto Rican citizens are also entitled to full Medical
Assistance if eligible.
– Common statuses that are not qualified include
•
•
•
•
•
•

immigrants on tourist visas (B)
work visas (H, L)
student visas (F)
exchange visitors (J)
applicants for asylum, and
undocumented immigrants.

– The key “qualified” immigrant statuses:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

U.S. Citizen (by birth or naturalization)
Legal Permanent Resident (“Green Card”)
Asylees/Refugees
Some Cuban/Haitian entrants
Persons paroled into U.S. for 1 year or more
VAWA petitioning battered women (and children)
Persons granted withholding of deportation or removal
Immediate Relative of USC, with filed I-130 petition
Immediate Relative, with approved I-130 petition
PRUCOLs (Persons Residing Under Color of Law)

– What matters for full MA eligibility is ultimately
whether the immigrant is in a qualified status or not.
– If MA caseworkers or staff make any of the following
statements about immigration status, you should
recognize these as completely erroneous:
• “He is ineligible because he is not a citizen”
• “She is ineligible because he is not a citizen or LPR”
• “He is ineligible because he does not have a Social Security
Number”
• Note also that “legal” or “illegal” is also not a relevant
distinction, since many completely “legal” immigrants are not
in a qualified status (E.g., student visa).

• Emergency Medical Assistance (EMA)
– Immigrants who do not fit into any of the qualified immigrant
statuses, such as immigrants on student visas or undocumented
immigrants, are still eligible for EMA.
– EMA is a quick way to enroll temporarily in an MA program to
treat a specific problem. The difference between EMA and
“regular” MA:
• A qualified immigrant with full MA could be enrolled into MA for
many years to treat countless medical problems.
• An immigrant enrolled in EMA, by contrast, will be enrolled for only
a short time to treat a specific and serious “Emergency Medical
Condition.” After that treatment is complete, the enrollment ends.

– What is an “Emergency Medical Condition”?
• Getting approval for EMA does not require an
"Emergency" in the “Emergency Room” sense of the
word. It does require that the immigrant have an
“Emergency Medical Condition” (EMC).
• An EMC is simply a serious medical condition meeting
a specific definition which may or may not require the
immigrant to go to an Emergency Room.

– The definition of an EMC is as follows:
An emergency medical condition is a medical condition with
acute symptoms of such severity including severe pain, that
without immediate attention, the result may be:
• the patient's health is in serious jeopardy;
• serious impairment to bodily functions; or
• serious dysfunction of any body organ or part.
– If an immigrant meets any one of the above bullet points, then
s/he has an EMC.

– An EMC includes labor and delivery services; labor
and delivery is automatically an EMC!
• Medical Assistance-funded medical services for pregnant
women are available from the beginning of active labor until
the delivery is complete and the mother and child are
stabilized.
• This coverage does not include prenatal or postpartum care.
• An EMC does NOT include pregnancy itself, unless it is a
high-risk pregnancy, verified by healthcare provider.

– An EMC also does not include care and services
related to organ transplant procedures.

– General Advice About EMA
• Remember that having and EMC and applying through EMA only
gets you around the “qualified immigrant status” requirement for MA
eligibility; the other three basic MA eligibility requirements (PA
residency, fitting into a category, and meeting the income/asset
limits) are still applicable. An immigrant with an EMC who does not
meet those three requirements is not eligible for EMA.
• As a general rule, Emergency Medical Assistance only covers shortterm acute conditions, and cannot be used for chronic or ongoing
care. However, in 2004, the Department of Public Welfare issued an
Operations Memorandum clarifying that chronic care, such as
dialysis, may be approved in certain cases.
• Contact the HELP: MLP attorneys for detailed advice in specific
cases.

For ongoing questions, consultations or
participant referrals:
– Contact Laura Handel, HELP: MLP/HS
Staff Attorney
• Phone: 610-497-7355
• E-mail: Lh.helpmlp@gmail.com
• Referrals can be placed in my bin in the Healthy Start
office, or
• Just come knock on my door; I’d love to see you! 

Immigrant access to medical assistance in Pennsylvania

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