About Insuring Your Health
KHN contributing columnist Michelle Andrews writes the series聽, which explores health care coverage and costs.
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A. They may be. “Lawfully present” immigrants, including international students who are enrolled in a college or university in the United States and visiting scholars who are here teaching or conducting research, for example, 聽on the health insurance marketplaces.
In general, in order to qualify for subsidized marketplace coverage, international students’ income would have to be between 100 and 400 percent of the federal poverty level, as you noted ($11,490 to $45,960 for an individual in 2013).
If their income is less than 100 percent of the federal poverty level, however, 聽on the exchanges under a special rule for people who are lawfully present in the country but not otherwise able to .听
In general, people who are here temporarily, such as students, can’t qualify for Medicaid, says Jenny Rejeske, a health policy analyst at the National Immigration Law Center.
There’s a further twist. In order to receive tax credits, international students must be state residents, and that can be problematic.
“We advise students to talk with an immigration lawyer to make sure that declaring residency won’t interfere with their visas,” says Rejeske.