talkhealth Blog

For ages, people have been migrating from their native countries in search of better education and job opportunities. Although they manage to earn decent figures, they rarely enjoy the same status and facilities that the permanent residents enjoy. However, this is not the case with the immigrants residing in the United States of America.

Apart from providing a decent lifestyle, the US also provides several other facilities to simplify the lives of immigrants; Emergency Medicaid is one such example.

What is Emergency Medicaid?

Emergency Medicaid is a program that offers Medical cover to the immigrants who do not qualify for full Medicaid owing to their immigration or citizenship status. It is built to aid the lower-income strata and used as a last resort for people who have nowhere else to go.

The program covers healthcare and service expenses incurred due to emergency medical conditions.

Conditions covered under “emergency medical conditions”

“Emergency medical conditions” is a broad term that covers all the medical conditions manifested by acute and severe symptoms that can cause serious impairment or dysfunction in bodily functions and organs if not attended on time; for instance, emergency labour and delivery.

Emergency Medicaid also covers costs related to kidney dialysis or serious health conditions like a heart attack or severe pain that could lead to a dangerous health outcome without medical help. For instance, if someone is temporarily in New York and gets a massive and debilitating heart attack, they will not qualify for Emergency Medicaid in NY.

Services that are not covered under Emergency Medicaid

Services like home care, private duty nursing, personal care, and home health services, nursing facility services are not covered. Also, rehabilitation services like occupational, speech, and physical therapies, and ALC (alternate level of care) are not covered under emergency Medicaid.

Moreover, health conditions that require extended rehabilitation or patients who are suffering from a chronic illness are not covered under emergency medical conditions.

Eligibility criteria for Emergency Medicaid

This Medicaid program covers the medical expenses of temporary non-immigrants, as well as undocumented foreigners residing in the United States of America. Below are the details regarding the eligibility criteria.

Temporary Non-immigrants

Several immigrants visit the United States of America for specific purposes and are allowed to stay for a predetermined duration of time. These non-immigrants are eligible for receiving emergency Medicaid coverage, given they are not in the country solely for obtaining medical treatment or care.

Undocumented aliens

An individual, who is living in the country illegally, or does not possess important documents, or continues to live in the country after the expiry of the duration of their authorized stay can also be saved during an emergency using the emergency Medicaid cover.

How to apply for Emergency Medicaid?

To receive this coverage, as mentioned above, one should fulfil the eligibility requirements, like providing identity proof, State residency proof, and income proof. Temporary non-immigrants who are residing in the country for a specific purpose and duration, as permitted by the United States, need not show their State residency proof.

The family of the sufferer can apply for Emergency Medicaid by approaching the local social service departments. After authenticating the documents and the doctor’s report, the authorities initiate the process. The authorities also assign a caseworker to take care of the entire process.

To get Emergency Medicaid for children, their parents or legal guardians need to fulfil the financial criteria.

In any case, Medicaid coverage is provided only after a doctor authenticates the severity of the problem and considers it a medical emergency. Furthermore, one cannot apply for Emergency Medicaid beforehand. It is provided only when an emergency situation arises.

Conclusion

The United States of America is counted amongst the best countries for immigrants and with programs like Emergency Medicaid, it further reinforces the welfare of its temporary residents.

+1568

  

Guest blogger

Our guest post blogspot features a wide and diverse range of guests who have written one-off blogs about different aspects of health and fitness. If you are interested in featuring on our guest blogspot, please contact us.