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Citizenship Requirements for Medicaid

United States citizens and qualified aliens (some legal permanent residents, refugees and people granted asylum) are required to present documentation proving their citizenship in order to qualify for Medicaid, the federal health care program for low-income individuals and families administered by the states. Citizenship only needs to be proved one time. Documentation was required to fulfill proof of citizenship until 2009, when the Children's Health Insurance Program reauthorization law (CHIPRA) provided an additional option for meeting requirements and amended the rules for newborn citizen documentation.

  1. Naturalized Citizens

    • Naturalized citizens can only use the following list of documents, and only need to present one: U.S.passport, certificate of naturalization (N-550 or N-570), certificate of United States citizenship (N-650 or N-561) or any other document specified by the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.

    Other Documentation

    • If the list of documentation for naturalized citizens cannot be produced, one birth document and one identity document must be provided. Birth documents include U.S. birth certificate, national I.D. card (Form I-197 or I-179), or report of birth abroad of a United States citizen (Form FS-545). Identity documents include a government-issued ID or state-issued driver's license with a photo, U.S. military dependent I.D. card, U.S. Coast Guard merchant mariner card or a Native American tribal document.

    Children

    • Children under 16 years of age must present a school record or report card, a day care or nursery school record or an affidavit completed by a parent or guardian.

    CHIPRA

    • In 2009, CHIPRA included an additional way to meet U.S. citizenship documentation requirements. States can now document citizenship status through a data match with the Social Security Administration (SSA) by submitting names and Social Security numbers of applicants to the SSA. Since the SSA maintains citizenship and nationality information, it is able to notify the state if the declaration of citizenship is valid or inconsistent with its records.

    Newborns

    • In the past, states have automatically enrolled newborn babies in Medicaid until their first birthday, but then required a review of eligibility. CHIPRA, stating that newborns are citizens by definition, eliminates the requirement to verify documentation.

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