Upwards of 16,000 immigrants on track to enroll in WA Medicaid expansion

Washington's immigrant population is jumping at the chance to apply for health insurance as coverage expands for those without a federally-recognized immigration status.

That's according to a new report from the Washington Health Benefit Exchange, which looks at the number of "uninsured and undocumented" people who have applied for insurance through the state's Health Plan Finder website. The findings show that at least 16,000 people are on track to be covered by the state's upcoming Medicaid expansion for immigrants.

Beginning Nov. 1, 2023, people without legal immigration status have been allowed to start shopping for private health and dental insurance under a federally approved waiver, which waived the federal definition of "lawfully present" under the Affordable Care Act.

The report found that, through Jan. 18, an estimated 24% of those uninsured and undocumented in Washington have applied for health coverage — about 24,000 applicants of the state's approximately 100,000 total undocumented individuals.

"I'm kind of blown away by those numbers," said Wynne McHale, chief of staff at the Health Benefit Exchange.

McHale said that the agency knew there were many barriers to getting people without legal immigration status on board, including having to "go to what is essentially a website operated by a government entity and fill out an application that requires a lot of personal information."

They credited work with community organizations with helping the Health Benefit Exchange reach as many people as it has.

About 68% of the 24,000 people who applied have an income under 139% of the federal poverty level, or about $20,784 for a single-person household.

Those roughly 16,200 people will be eligible for Washington's upcoming Apple Health Expansion on July 24, which will cover adults 19 and older who don't qualify for other health insurance programs due to their immigration status. Apple Health is the state's name for Medicaid.

State lawmakers poured $28.4 million dollars into expanding Apple Health for people without legal immigration status this year. But McHale said more funding is needed, as enrollment will be capped to the funds available.

Applicants eligible under the Apple Health Expansion come from 35 of Washington's 39 counties and over 90% are Hispanic. King, Yakima and Snohomish counties saw the highest number of applicants.

Yakima, for years, has had one of the lowest rates of health insurance coverage, said Alex Cordova of Yakima Neighborhood Health Services, one of the Health Benefit Exchange's partners.

"This is going to help a lot of people get insurance and hopefully, those numbers keep rising," Cordova said. "It's gonna be good for the community, the county, the state."

Cordova said the biggest barrier he hears about preventing people from getting health insurance is affordability, and he's hoping the Apple Health Expansion will help with that.

"People are getting excited," Cordova said, adding: "The state is moving in the right direction."