Important Information for Immigrant Families Considering Enrolling in Marketplace Coverage

Many families have not enrolled in health care coverage through the ACA marketplace. This is especially true of many mixed immigration status families. These families may be concerned about the collection of immigration status data by the Marketplace, which verifies immigration data provided on the application with the Department of Homeland Security.

The federal government wants to assure these families that it is safe to apply for health insurance through the Marketplace. No immigration enforcement action will be taken against an immigrant family based on information provided in a Marketplace application.

The Secretary of Homeland Security, Jeh Johnson, recently wrote for La Opinión on this topic in “Setting the Record Straight on Health Care and Immigrant families.” Johnson wrote about a notice issued by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). In its notice, ICE explained that it will not use data collected by the Marketplace for the purpose of immigration enforcement. The notice can be read inEnglish or Spanish.

When is immigration status required? Because only U.S. citizens or lawfully present immigrants are eligible for many health care benefits, immigration status is required for those seeking these benefits:

• enrolling in a health plan,
• applying for government assistance, like the Advanced Tax Credit and cost sharing subsidies, or
• applying for government programs, like Medicaid or CHIP

However, the immigration status of family members not applying for one of these benefits is not required by the Marketplace.This means undocumented parents with U.S. citizen children can apply for insurance for their children without providing the parent’s immigration status on a Marketplace application. Only the children’s immigration status will be required.

Who is lawfully present? A list of the type of immigration statuses considered lawfully present may be found here. Examples of a lawfully present status include green card holders and those who have work visas or student visas.

Use of immigration data. ICE and other U.S. organizations will not use Marketplace data for the purpose of immigration enforcement against:

• applicants,
• their family members, including those not applying for coverage
• or anyone else

Undocumented parents should feel it is safe to apply for coverage through the Marketplace for their children without fear of immigration enforcement action being taken against them.

For more information on this topic please see Marketplace FAQ: What do immigrant families need to know about the Marketplace?You can apply for insurance by visiting Helpth.com, Healthcare.gov or CuidadodeSalud.gov.