By: Ashmar Mandou
Elected officials recently vocalized their disappointment over the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services (HFS) decision to put a pause on health care enrollment available to immigrants ages 42-64 under the Health Benefits for Immigrant Adults (HBIA) program.
“The decision by Governor Pritzker to cut off health care enrollment for immigrants is wrong and will have life-and-death consequences. Immigrant households are taxpayers, contributing up to $7.7 billion in state and local taxes in 2018 alone. The state is trying to save money by ripping away care from undocumented people — care they were promised and programs that many immigrants have paid into. In the end, defunding preventative care will cost everyone more money and more pain,” said Congressman Jesús “Chuy” García (IL-04).
The Chicago City Council Latino Caucus released a statement stating they stand with their colleagues at the Illinois Legislative Latino Caucus and believe it is inhumane to deny healthcare for noncitizens of Illinois because healthcare is a basic human right. “This decision will inevitably be at a greater cost to Illinois taxpayers,” said Chair of the Chicago Latino Caucus Rossana Rodriguez Sanchez (33), “This is because noncitizens will more than likely end up in the emergency room since they were denied preventative care.” As of July 1, noncitizen adults will no longer be able to apply for new health care coverage. Therefore, any noncitizen aged 42 to 64 who has not signed up must do so before July 1. “I believe health care is a fundamental right for all people so obviously I’m disappointed by the decision,” said Senator Villanueva (D-Chicago). “These actions run contrary to Illinois being a welcoming state. The immediate task at hand is to get as many people as possible signed up for these benefits by the July 1 deadline. This population is often some of the most underrepresented and underserved in Illinois, which means their resources are limited.”
The General Assembly directed the Department to ensure HBIA program does not exceed the funds available and appropriated by the General Assembly for FY24. HFS will follow the process laid out in the emergency rules to temporarily pause new enrollments in the Health Benefits for Immigrant Adults program, covering eligible residents between the ages of 42 to 64, beginning July 1. This pause does not impact current HBIA enrollees who remain eligible for healthcare coverage through the program. At this time, enrollment in the Health Benefits for Immigrant Seniors program will remain open. However, HBIS enrollment will be temporarily paused for FY24 if the number of individuals enrolled in the program reaches 16,500.
“In 2020, we made history by becoming the first state to offer health care coverage to certain noncitizen age groups. We knew that when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Latino communities were among the most vulnerable, and we stepped up to lay the foundation for a program that would make sure every Illinois resident could get the care they needed,” a statement from the Illinois Legislative Latino Caucus. “We will continue to fight for health care for all Illinoisans. Latino Caucus members have not given up – and will pursue closing the gap in coverage until we achieve health care for all residents. The often-disenfranchised communities we represent sent us to Springfield to be their voice; we will never turn our backs on them.”
