California Health Care Foundation

This website (also available in Chinese and Spanish) is designed to help immigrant families get the basic information they need about the public charge rule. It includes screening tools that help the user understand how accessing public benefits may affect immigration status (their own or that of a friend of family member), which benefits are safe to use, and when and how to seek legal advice.

This Health Affairs blog summarizes a variety of studies that have been released since the announcement of the public charge rule, many as expert declarations in lawsuits opposing the rule. These studies project lower SNAP and Medicaid enrollment as well as losses in economic output resulting from the new rule. One study predicts 1,300–4,000 excess deaths resulting from declines in Medicaid coverage, while another estimates that the loss of housing benefits will result in worse health outcomes, lower educational attainment, and lower lifetime earnings for certain individuals.

These community-facing materials from the Protecting Immigrant Families (PIF) are intended to better equip immigrants with the information they need to make the best decisions for themselves and for their families. Some materials are specifically for those working with immigrants, including advocates, health care professionals and legal service providers. Resources are in a variety of languages.

This Urban Institute brief shares insights from in-depth interviews conducted in March 2019 with 25 adults in immigrant families who reported that they or a family member avoided safety net programs like Medicaid, SNAP, or housing assistance in 2018 because of immigration concerns. The study highlights fear and confusion about the proposed public charge rule, a reliance on the media for information with few people seeking professional advice, and hardship for children and adults after losing access to public supports.

The Department of Homeland Security finalized radical changes to immigration rules that go against America’s traditional values of inclusion. The San Francisco Chronicle published this opinion piece by CHCF’s CEO Sandra R. Hernández.

In this brief, the Urban Institute uses data from the December 2018 Well-Being and Basic Needs Survey to provide the first systematic documentation of the number of immigrant families avoiding public benefit programs due to fear of the pending public charge rule.

The UCLA Center for Health Policy Research and Education estimates, for each California region and county, how changes to the “public charge” test could impact enrollment in Medi-Cal and/or CalFresh, jobs, economic output, and tax revenue. Use this PDF to see how your area could be affected.

On August 12, 2019, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security released the final rule on “public charge,” which will likely increase the number of uninsured in California. ITUP summarizes the final rule alongside existing federal law related to public charge and health care programs. The fact sheet also assesses the potential impacts on immigrant access to health care in California.