Community Legal Services has prepared a handout that includes a brief overview of immigrant eligibility for Medical Assistance and addresses some common concerns around privacy and public charge (https://clsphila.org/coronavirus/immigrants-medical-assistance-covid-19/). It also includes two important pieces of new information specific to COVID-19:
No one in PA should be denied Medical Assistance for COVID-19 testing, diagnosis or treatment because of their immigration status! COVID-19 is an emergency medical condition in Pennsylvania, so Pennsylvania Emergency Medical Assistance will include coverage of COVID-19 testing, diagnosis, and treatment.
Using Medical Assistance for COVID-19 testing, diagnosis and treatment creates no public charge risk. As has always been the case under the new public charge rule, the very large majority of people who are eligible for Medical Assistance can receive Medical Assistance without any public charge risk. In addition to this, USCIS announced last week that COVID-19 testing, diagnosis and treatment (including a vaccine if/when one becomes available) will not be considered during public charge tests, even if Medical Assistance is used to access these services.
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