Federal Medicaid Change Takes Effect for Many Immigrants

Federal Medicaid eligibility restrictions took effect October 1, ending full Medicaid coverage for many lawfully present immigrants who do not have green cards, including refugees, asylees, trafficking survivors and some people admitted through humanitarian parole. The changes stem from H.R. 1, the 2025 federal budget law. Certain groups, including qualifying green-card holders, children under 19 and pregnant people, remain eligible under the reported rules. In Illinois, state and news estimates put the number affected at roughly 9,300 to about 10,000. Those figures differ, and the state has not released a final count of people whose coverage has actually ended after eligibility processing. Reports say more than 40% of affected Illinois residents live in Cook County, concentrating the impact in the Chicago area. Across nine states and Washington, D.C., state counts gathered in one compilation identified more than 281,000 people at risk of losing coverage. That is a partial tally, not a national total. Separately, the Congressional Budget Office estimated the Medicaid provision could leave about 100,000 more people uninsured by 2034.