State health coverage regardless of immigration status (2026): 15 jurisdictions cover children, 7 cover some adults — and only 2 adult programs remain open

Name: State health coverage regardless of immigration status by state (2026)
Creator: MigrantUSA
License: https://migrantusa.com/terms/

Whether each state offers state-funded health coverage to income-eligible residents regardless of immigration status, all 50 states and DC, as of April 2026. 15 jurisdictions cover children, 7 built adult programs — but California and DC have frozen enrollment, Illinois paused, Colorado and Washington capped, and Minnesota ended its program, leaving only Oregon and New York (65+) open to new adult enrollees. 26 states provide prenatal care regardless of status. Compiled from the KFF and NILC trackers.

State health coverage regardless of immigration status

The finding: whether an undocumented resident can get comprehensive, state-funded health coverage is decided entirely at the state level — and the map is now shrinking. As of April 2026, 15 jurisdictions (14 states and DC) cover income-eligible children regardless of immigration status, and 7 built programs for at least some adults. But of those 7, only Oregon (all adults) and New York (seniors 65+) still accept new adult enrollees without a freeze or a cap. Since mid-2025, every change to these programs has gone the same direction: Illinois ended its 42-64 program (July 2025), DC froze enrollment for adults 26+ (October 2025), Minnesota ended adult coverage and California froze new enrollment (both January 2026), Colorado cut its subsidy cap from 12,000 to 6,700, and Washington’s capped program has more demand than space.

Every state — children, adults, prenatal

Whether each state offers comprehensive state-funded health coverage to income-eligible residents regardless of immigration status, as of April 2026: 15 jurisdictions cover children, 7 have a program for at least some adults — but only 2 (Oregon, and New York for 65+) accept new adult enrollees with no freeze or cap. Income and age limits change with state budgets — confirm with your state's health agency. General information, not legal advice.

State	Children	Adults	Prenatal regardless of status
California	Yes	Yes — frozen	Yes
Colorado	Yes	Yes — capped	Yes
District of Columbia	Yes	Yes — frozen	—
Illinois	Yes	Yes — paused	Yes
New York	Yes	Yes — open	Yes
Oregon	Yes	Yes — open	Yes
Washington	Yes	Yes — capped	Yes
Connecticut	Yes	No	Yes
Maine	Yes	No	Yes
Massachusetts	Yes	No	Yes
Minnesota	Yes	No	Yes
New Jersey	Yes	No	Yes
Rhode Island	Yes	No	Yes
Utah	Yes	No	—
Vermont	Yes	No	Yes
Alabama	No	No	Yes
Alaska	No	No	—
Arizona	No	No	—
Arkansas	No	No	Yes
Delaware	No	No	—
Florida	No	No	—
Georgia	No	No	—
Hawaii	No	No	—
Idaho	No	No	—
Indiana	No	No	—
Iowa	No	No	—
Kansas	No	No	—
Kentucky	No	No	—
Louisiana	No	No	Yes
Maryland	No	No	Yes
Michigan	No	No	Yes
Mississippi	No	No	—
Missouri	No	No	Yes
Montana	No	No	—
Nebraska	No	No	Yes
Nevada	No	No	—
New Hampshire	No	No	—
New Mexico	No	No	—
North Carolina	No	No	—
North Dakota	No	No	—
Ohio	No	No	—
Oklahoma	No	No	Yes
Pennsylvania	No	No	—
South Carolina	No	No	—
South Dakota	No	No	Yes
Tennessee	No	No	Yes
Texas	No	No	Yes
Virginia	No	No	Yes
West Virginia	No	No	—
Wisconsin	No	No	Yes
Wyoming	No	No	—

The 7 adult programs, state by state

California — Adults 19 and older could enroll in full-scope Medi-Cal regardless of status if enrolled by January 1, 2026; new enrollment for undocumented adults has been frozen since that date. Enrolled adults lose non-emergency dental services on or after July 1, 2026, and ages 19-59 pay $30 monthly premiums on or after July 1, 2027.
Colorado — State-based premium assistance for individual coverage purchased on the Colorado Connect platform, up to 150% FPL, regardless of status; the enrollment cap was cut from 12,000 people (2025) to 6,700 (2026).
District of Columbia — DC Health Care Alliance for adults 21 and older earning up to 138% FPL; new enrollment frozen for adults 26 and older since October 1, 2025 (ages 21-25 can still enroll). DC plans to end adult coverage by October 2027.
Illinois — Health Benefits for Immigrant Seniors (HBIS), 65 and older with income up to 100% FPL; new enrollment paused since November 6, 2023 (current enrollees keep coverage). The companion adult program HBIA (ages 42-64) ended in July 2025.
New York — Seniors 65 and older, regardless of immigration status, through state-funded coverage.
Oregon — Adults regardless of immigration status.
Washington — A Medicaid-like Apple Health program for adults earning up to 138% FPL, open since July 1, 2024 -- but program funding is capped and demand exceeds the space available; people can apply to be considered if space opens.

Children's coverage, where it exists

California — Full-scope Medi-Cal for children under 19 (also foster and former foster youth under 26)
Colorado — Children under 19 (Colorado plans to scale back this coverage beginning January 2027)
Connecticut — Children under 15 at enrollment; if they remain eligible, coverage continues to age 19
District of Columbia — DC Health Care Alliance for Children, children under 21
Illinois — All Kids program, family income up to 318% FPL (copays and premiums suspended)
Maine — Children under 21
Massachusetts — Primary and preventive care through the state-funded Children's Medical Security Plan (children under 19 who are not lawfully present or PRUCOL); broader state-funded MassHealth for PRUCOL children
Minnesota — MinnesotaCare, children under 18 who are ineligible for Medical Assistance
New Jersey — NJ FamilyCare, children under 19
New York — All children covered under Medicaid or the state Child Health Plus program
Oregon — Children regardless of status (the same program also covers adults)
Rhode Island — Children under 19
Utah — Children regardless of status, if they meet certain conditions
Vermont — Children regardless of status (also pregnant people)
Washington — Children in households up to 317% FPL (no share of cost up to 215% FPL; monthly premiums between 215% and 317%)

How the map has moved, dated

Date	State	What changed
2023-11-06	Illinois	Paused new enrollment in HBIS (seniors 65+); enrollees keep coverage
2024-07-01	Washington	Opened its Apple Health-like adult program with capped funding; demand has exceeded space
2025-01-01	Minnesota	Extended MinnesotaCare to adults regardless of status
2025-07-01	Illinois	Ended HBIA, the program for adults 42-64, citing funding constraints
2025-10-01	District of Columbia	Froze new Health Care Alliance enrollment for adults 26 and older
2026-01-01	Minnesota	Ended the adult coverage it had extended one year earlier (children's coverage continues)
2026-01-01	California	Froze new Medi-Cal enrollment for undocumented adults 19 and older
2026-01-01	Colorado	Cut the Colorado Connect subsidy cap from 12,000 people to 6,700
2026-07-01	California	Non-emergency dental services end for undocumented adult enrollees (and others subject to the change)
2027-01-01	Colorado	Plans to scale back children's coverage (announced)
2027-07-01	California	$30 monthly premiums begin for enrollees 19-59 (announced)
2027-10-01	District of Columbia	Plans to end Health Care Alliance adult coverage entirely (announced)

Sources: KFF (per-state lists as of April 2026) and NILC (table, March 2026). In EVERY state, regardless of status: Emergency Medicaid and community health centers (FQHCs) treat anyone.

What the data shows

Children’s coverage held; adult coverage is closing. The 15 child-coverage jurisdictions are all still enrolling. The adult programs are not: 5 of the 7 are frozen, paused, or capped, and one state that expanded (Minnesota, January 2025) ended the coverage twelve months later.
Prenatal care is the widest door. 26 states provide prenatal care regardless of the pregnant person’s status — far more than the 15 jurisdictions that cover children, and it includes states with no other coverage at all: Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, and Texas.
The retrenchment is dated, not speculative. The timeline above lists each program change with its effective date, from Illinois’s 2023 enrollment pause through the announced 2027 changes in California, Colorado, and DC.

Why this matters

For a family deciding where a sick child can see a doctor, this table is the difference between a covered visit and an emergency room bill. The state you live in — not your income, not your years in the country — determines whether a state program will cover you. And because the adult programs are contracting on announced dates, “my neighbor enrolled last year” is no longer evidence that you can: in California and DC the door closed behind existing enrollees, and in Illinois it has been closed since 2023.

Two things this dataset deliberately does not do. It does not track application procedures, income verification, or renewal rules — those are set by each state’s health agency and change with state budgets, so every row sends you to the state agency for current rules. And it does not advise on immigration consequences of enrolling — see the public-charge FAQ above.

Method and caveats

This is a curated per-state classification of whether each of the 50 states and DC provides state-funded comprehensive coverage to income-eligible residents regardless of immigration status, as of April 2026, in three columns: children, adults (with each program’s enrollment status — open, frozen, paused, or capped), and prenatal care regardless of status. It is cross-checked against the two authoritative trackers: KFF’s per-state lists (as of April 2026; page updated June 11, 2026) and NILC’s table (March 2026). The two sources agree on the state lists; per-state details come from whichever source states them.

Three limits, stated plainly. The as-of date matters more here than on most pages — these programs are moving with state budgets, and the dated timeline is part of the data. Income limits, age bands, and caps are the states’ own current published terms, not guarantees of enrollment. And this is general information, not legal advice — confirm current rules with your state’s health agency before relying on them. In every state, regardless of status: Emergency Medicaid and community health centers remain available.

Download the data: health_coverage_access.json — all 50 states and DC: children, adults with enrollment status, prenatal access, and the dated program timeline.

Suggested citation: MigrantUSA, “State health coverage regardless of immigration status by state, 2026,” https://migrantusa.com/datasets/health-coverage-regardless-of-status-by-state/ (accessed [date]).

Newsrooms, clinics, promotores networks, legal-aid and immigrant-services organizations: drop in the panel below. It shows how many jurisdictions cover children and adults regardless of status, and that only two adult programs remain open — and it updates when the map changes.

<iframe src="https://migrantusa.com/embed/health-coverage-access/" width="100%" height="560"
        style="border:1px solid #e2e8e4;border-radius:8px;max-width:640px"
        title="State health coverage regardless of immigration status" loading="lazy"></iframe>
<p style="font-size:12px">Source: <a href="https://migrantusa.com/datasets/health-coverage-regardless-of-status-by-state/">MigrantUSA — state health coverage by state</a></p>

Frequently asked questions

Which states cover children regardless of immigration status?

As of April 2026, 15 jurisdictions provide state-funded coverage to income-eligible children regardless of immigration status: California, Colorado, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont, and Washington. Age and income limits differ — for example, Connecticut enrolls children under 15, DC covers children under 21, and Illinois’s All Kids reaches families up to 318% of the federal poverty level. The table above shows each state’s terms.

Which states cover adults, and can a new applicant still enroll?

Seven jurisdictions built adult programs: California, Colorado, DC, Illinois, New York, Oregon, and Washington. But as of April 2026 only two still take new adult enrollees without a freeze or cap — Oregon (adults of any age) and New York (seniors 65 and older). California froze new enrollment in January 2026, DC froze it for adults 26 and older in October 2025, Illinois paused its senior program in 2023 and ended its 42-64 program in July 2025, and Colorado and Washington cap enrollment, with demand exceeding space. Minnesota ended its adult coverage in January 2026 after one year.

What about pregnant women?

Prenatal care is the most widely available coverage regardless of immigration status: 26 states provide it, through the federal CHIP unborn-child option or state funds, and many of them continue coverage for 12 months after the birth. Some set income limits — Illinois up to 213% of the federal poverty level, Maryland 250%, Washington 215%. The table above marks each state.

My state covers nothing — what can I actually use?

Two things exist in every state regardless of immigration status. Emergency Medicaid pays hospitals for emergency care, including labor and delivery, no matter the patient’s status. And community health centers (FQHCs) provide primary care, dental, and prescriptions on a sliding fee scale to anyone, regardless of status or insurance — our community health center dataset maps how many sites each state has. Free and charitable clinics and hospital financial-assistance policies add more options in many states.

Does enrolling in these programs affect an immigration case?

The public-charge rules that govern this question have changed repeatedly — in 2019, 2022, and again in 2026, when DHS issued a rule rescinding the 2022 regulation effective September 18, 2026. Because the ground rules are moving, this dataset does not give an answer to that question; see our public charge explainer for the current state of the rule, and talk to an immigration attorney or accredited representative about your specific situation before making enrollment decisions based on it.

Can I reuse this data?

Yes. The JSON file is free to download and reuse, including commercially, with attribution to MigrantUSA and a link to this page. The underlying policy facts come from the public KFF and NILC trackers; the per-state compilation, the enrollment-status classification, and the dated timeline are ours.

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General information, not legal advice. MigrantUSA is an independent publisher and is not a law firm; using this site does not create an attorney-client relationship, and this content is not a substitute for advice from a licensed attorney about your specific situation. US federal, state, and local government procedures, fees, and forms change. Always verify current details directly with the relevant agency before acting. For immigration, tax, or other legal matters specific to your situation, consult a licensed attorney or BIA-accredited representative.