Health
Thousands of Immigrants in Illinois Set to Lose Medicaid Coverage
Changes to Medicaid eligibility take effect Thursday, impacting about 9,300 lawfully present immigrants in Illinois. Refugees, survivors of human trafficking and people who have been granted asylum are among those no longer covered.
The change comes as part of President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which issued major restrictions to immigrants’ ability to use government-funded support systems.
For people starting anew in the United States, Medicaid is often their primary way to access healthcare. Losing that insurance adds another layer of complications — particularly when that loss coincides with changes in immigration status.
Married couple Mahmoud and Asmaa and their 19-year-old son, Omar, came to Chicago from Syria as refugees and will soon lose their Medicaid coverage without green card status. The family did not want to be identified by last name as they’re in the process of applying for permanent residency. Omar has Duchenne muscular dystrophy and is connected to a ventilator at all times.
“They are legally here, they are entitled to receive benefits,” said Ali Tarokh, director of development and communications at the Syrian Community Network. “They are highly dependent on Medicaid services, and if they cannot afford the private health insurance, which they cannot, the father told us that his son is going to die.”
The Centers of Medicaid and Medicare Services did not respond to WTTW News’ request for comment. The White House has touted the cuts as part of the administration’s push to reduce spending on people who are not American citizens.
Groups that are exempt from Medicaid loss are lawfully present immigrants from Cuba, Haiti, Palau, the Marshall Islands and Micronesia, as well as legally present children and pregnant people, and refugees, asylees and trafficking survivors with permanent status.
In an already overwhelmed healthcare system, there is a concern among medical providers that cuts to Medicaid will result in even greater stress to healthcare facilities.
“These people will have very limited choices about where they can go,” said Mary Sajdak, director of care coordination at Near North Health. “There are people in the community who do take care of folks that don’t have health insurance or health coverage, but the numbers will quickly overwhelm the amount of resources that are available.”
There are spaces like safety-net hospitals available for people awaiting citizenship or free clinics that sometimes take patients without medical coverage, but those systems are also often impacted by federal funding cuts.
More changes are being made to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act in the coming months. New work requirements that start Dec. 31 are estimated to cause between 165,000 and 330,000 Illinoisans to lose coverage, according to the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services.
To remain eligible, people will have to satisfy a work requirement of at least 80 hours per month or make a pre-tax income of at least $580 per month. Participation in a work program or enrollment in an educational program also satisfies the requirement. There are some exceptions.
Some local advocates, like Maya Oyarbide-Sanchez, the wellness program director at RefugeeOne, argue the federal changes are not just a hit to the immigrant communities but indicative of a broader societal problem.
“It’s a really scary and painful road to go down to start valuing what human life is dignified and worthy of just surviving,” Oyarbide-Sanchez said. “It is xenophobia. It is racism, and it is trying to be masked as something else. That’s something we should all be really scared about. And frankly, this is going to affect all of us, regardless of our status.”
