What is the Immigrant Health Toolkit?
The Immigrant Health Toolkit compiles information to help guide community members, providers, and advocates in addressing questions and issues regarding access to health coverage and care for immigrants in Massachusetts. This is a project of the Immigrant Health Access Coalition (IHAC), and it is possible thanks to the efforts of Health Care For All (HCFA), Health Law Advocates (HLA), the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute (MLRI) and the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy (MIRA) Coalition. These organizations also lead the Massachusetts Chapter of the Protecting Immigrant Families Campaign.
Resources on this Toolkit are current as of July 2026.
Resources you’ll find below:
- Information on Public Charge — Updated July 23, 2026
- Recent Policy & Legislative Announcements
- Guides to Immigrant Eligibility for Health Insurance
- Attorney General Guidance
- Family Preparedness Guides
- CMS-DHS Data Sharing Talking Points
- Immigration Legal Support
- Educational Resources
Public Charge
The updated public charge rule was published on July 20th. As a reminder, the public charge inadmissibility test is not relevant for most immigrants. Public charge may apply to individuals who are newly applying for a family- or employment-based green card, or current green card holders who leave the country for more than 6 months.
The new public charge rule goes into effect on September 18th; the current public charge rule will remain in effect until this date.
Note: over the past decade there have been multiple versions of the public charge rule. Litigation and changes in the federal administration have stopped previous changes from taking effect. We will continue to monitor this rule and share information about its implementation as it becomes available.
Recent Policy & Legislative Announcements
On January 29, 2026, Governor Healey signed an executive order and filed legislation in response to increased immigration enforcement. The executive order bars ICE officers from making warrantless arrests in non-public areas of state facilities, bans new 287(g) agreements between ICE and state offices or agencies, and prohibits ICE from using state facilities or property to facilitate immigration enforcement efforts. The proposed legislation would prevent ICE enforcement in sensitive locations (courthouses, schools, health care settings, childcare programs, churches), prevent other states from deploying their National Guard to MA without the Governor’s permission, and allow parents to pre-arrange guardianship for their children should they face detention or deportation.
Immigrant Eligibility for Health Insurance in MA
The following diagram lays out the coverage that immigrants may be eligible for based on their immigration status. For further explanations on eligibility and definitions of immigration status, see the MLRI guide linked below.
The passage of the Reconciliation Bill in Congress and the CMS Marketplace Integrity and Affordability Rule in 2025 will result in several changes to immigrants’ eligibility for health insurance in the coming months and years.
This document provides a timeline for when these changes will occur:
Beginning in January 2026, lawfully present immigrants with income below 100% FPL will no longer be eligible for Premium Tax Credits through the Marketplace. This is one of the first changes from the Reconciliation Law to take effect. As a result of this provision, the Health Connector is eliminating Plan Type 1 on January 1, 2026.
The following guide lists potential coverage options for individuals who are impacted by this change:
Preparedness Resources
The resources below are designed to help immigrants, immigrant families, and employers of immigrants develop plans in the case of ICE engagement, detentions or deportations.
The family preparedness webpages below help advocates to walk immigrant families through plans for childcare, ensure that they have necessary documentation and are prepared in the event of a detention in the family.
CMS-DHS Data Sharing
UPDATE: The temporary injunction granted to 20 states (including Massachusetts) who filed a lawsuit in response to this data-sharing has been partially lifted as of January 5, 2026. A federal judge issued a ruling that limited this information sharing to cases where: (1) the data is from a Medicaid program, (2) the data relates only to people unlawfully present in the United States, and (3) the data only includes immigration status, contact information, date of birth, and Medicaid ID. Read more in this KFF brief discussing the implications of the agreement.
Talking Points from MassHealth will be added in additional languages as they are available.
Statewide list of providers for legal help with immigration issues. Developed by Massachusetts Law Reform Institute (MLRI).