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MEDICAL SERVICES POLICY MANUAL,SECTION D D-200 General Citizenship and Alien Status Requirements

D 221 Alien Categories

whom Medicaid is being requested. Refer to MS G-140 for alien verification requirements. If an alien has a sponsor, the sponsor’s income and resources may be deemed available to the alien when determining eligibility (MS E-300). Qualified aliens who entered the United States before August 22, 1996 are generally eligible for Medicaid, provided they meet other eligibility criteria. Qualified aliens who entered the United States on or after August 22, 1996, are barred from participation in Medicaid (with the exception of emergency services) for five years from the date of entry. After these individuals have been in the U.S. for five years, their sponsors’ income may then be deemed available to them for determining income eligibility for Medicaid with some exceptions. Refer to MS E-300 and MS E-445. Certain groups of qualified aliens are exempt from this five-year bar. Refer to MS D-223 – MS D-224 for conditions of exemption. Nonqualified aliens who meet the other Medicaid eligibility requirements are eligible for emergency Medicaid services only. Refer to MS B-500. A nonqualified (undocumented) alien woman who is pregnant may be eligible for Pregnant Woman Unborn Child (MS B-250). D-221 Alien Categories MS Manual 01/01/18 Any person who is not a citizen or national of the United States is termed an alien. Definitions for some of the different types of aliens are found below: • Non-immigrant - an alien who seeks temporary entry to the U.S. for a specificpurpose. • Asylee - an alien living in the U.S. who is unable or unwilling to return to his/her country of origin, or the last place they lived, or unwilling or unable to seek protection of that country because of persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution. Persecution or the fear of persecution may be based on the alien’s race, religion, nationality, social status, or political opinion. • Refugee - an alien living outside his/her country of nationality who is admitted into the U.S. because the individual is unable or unwilling to return to that country (or to the place they last lived) because of fear of persecution. Fear of persecution may be based on the individual’s race, religion, nationality, social status or political opinion. • Qualified Alien - an alien lawfully admitted and lawfully accorded the privilege of residing permanently in the United States. Qualified aliens are ineligible for medical benefits, except emergency medical assistance, for five years from the date of entryto