The Associated Press reports that a change that took effect on October 1 has stripped Medicaid coverage from an estimated 280,000 refugees, trafficking victims and other legally-present immigrants. The move is part of the Trump administration’s implementation of the 2025 tax-and-policy law, which required states to terminate coverage for most non-permanent residents unless they had maintained five years of lawful permanent residence. Although health care is not normally considered part of immigration enforcement, the measure effectively tightens the social-safety-net eligibility rules for non-citizens. Critics argue that depriving newcomers of basic medical coverage will push them toward emergency-room care and ultimately raise costs for state governments and hospitals. For employers that routinely sponsor humanitarian parolees or asylees—particularly in food processing, health care and seasonal agriculture—the sudden loss of Medicaid may accelerate turnover and complicate compliance with Affordable Care Act coverage mandates. Several relocation suppliers told AP that they have begun pricing out private “expat-style” health plans for newly arrived workers in order to keep assignment packages intact. Advocacy groups are expected to challenge the rule on equal-protection grounds, but litigating a congressionally mandated change will be an uphill battle. In the meantime, mobility managers should prepare for higher supplemental benefits costs when placing humanitarian migrants in the United States and verify that any state-level public-benefit orientation materials are updated to reflect the new reality.
Source: Associated Press
