Both the Essential Plan and Qualified Health Plans have expanded the citizenship/immigration criteria to include individuals granted deferred action through the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. Essential Plan’s inclusion of DACA recipients is effective August 1, 2024, and Qualified Health Plans inclusion will be November 1, 2024.The expansion allows DACA recipients with higher incomes [...]

For many years the Benefits Plus Leaning Center has offered an Immigrants’ Eligibility Chart which is designed for social service professionals working with individuals who are non-citizens.  The chart contains the immigration criteria for over 25 public benefit programs and is newly designed to identify programs that provide cash, food, health, etc.The chart, as well as [...]

What is Summer EBT?Summer EBT is a federally funded program that provides a one-time benefit of $120 for each eligible child which is encoded on an EBT card. Households will have 122 consecutive days from the date of issuance to use the benefit.NYS OTDA has identified children who will automatically receive Summer EBT benefits without submitting [...]

Effective January 1, 2024, New York State is waiving the citizenship/immigration requirements for Medicaid coverage for residents who are age 65 or older, as long as they meet all other eligibility criteria. Prior to this change, this population was only eligible for Medicaid to treat an emergency medical condition (also known as Emergency Medicaid).Coverage will only [...]