You have the right to get healthcare no matter your immigration status or ability to pay, even if you do not have health insurance.
- Under federal law, if you need emergency medical services, hospitals with emergency rooms must screen and treat you regardless of your immigration status, how much money you have, or whether you have insurance. Similarly, you can seek primary and preventive health care at community health centers regardless of your immigration status, your ability to pay, or whether you are insured.
- You are not required to have U.S. citizenship, lawful immigration status, or a Social Security number (SSN) to receive health care services under federal law. Doctors, hospitals, clinics, health centers, or other medical providers may ask for this information to find out if you may be eligible for public health insurance, like Medicaid. But they cannot deny medical treatment based solely on your immigration status—or based on assumptions they make about your immigration status because of the language you speak, your accent, what you look like, or whether you have an SSN. In fact, doing so may violate federal civil rights laws.
- Some states require hospitals to ask patients about their immigration status. If you are asked for your immigration status, you do not have to provide it, and a health care provider cannot refuse to treat you because you declined to share your immigration status information.
If you apply for health insurance, your personal information, including immigration status, is supposed to be kept private.
- Federal privacy rules protect families applying for health insurance, including families whose members have different immigration statuses. The information you provide to apply for Medicaid, CHIP, or an ACA Marketplace plan may be used only for the operation of that program—not for immigration enforcement purposes. Government workers, enrollment assisters, and people who help with insurance applications are required by law to keep your information private and secure.
You should not be refused healthcare services because you don’t have identification.
- Hospitals and health care providers may ask for photo identification, but not for purposes of immigration enforcement. Health care providers ask for identification to make sure that the person getting care is the same person whose name is on the medical record or prescription. You should not be refused health care because you do not have a photo ID.
You have the following health care options regardless of your immigration status or whether you have health insurance:
- Basic emergency room treatment for serious medical emergencies, including labor and delivery.
- Health care services from community health centers, migrant health centers, and free clinics.
- Services from state or local departments of public health (including immunization, screening and treatment for communicable diseases).
- Programs providing health services necessary to protect life or safety: including emergency medical, food or shelter programs; mental health crisis services; assistance for people experiencing domestic violence; crime victim assistance services and disaster relief.
- Financial assistance or “charity care” programs at community health centers and most public and safety-net hospitals.
- Note that some states provide free or low-cost public health insurance to children, pregnant individuals or other low-income residents regardless of their immigration status.
You do not need a Social Security number to apply for health insurance.
- Whether you are applying for health insurance for yourself or on behalf of another person, your health insurance application may not be delayed or denied because you don’t have an SSN. Only people who have a valid SSN issued by the Social Security Administration are required to provide one.
You have a right to receive services in your language when you apply for health insurance and obtain health care.
- You have a right to receive language assistance services at no cost when you seek health care at a hospital or community health center or are applying for Medicaid, CHIP, or a Marketplace plan. Hospitals, community health centers and government offices may use bilingual staff, telephone interpretation services, or qualified in-person interpreters to provide language assistance services. Children should not be asked to interpret for their family members, especially in health care settings.