Global Refuge warns that Afghan allies, trafficking survivors, and refugee children could go without care for chronic conditions
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 1, 2026
Contact: Timothy Young | timothy[dot]young at globalrefuge[dot]org
WASHINGTON – Starting today, refugees, Afghan allies, Ukrainian parolees, and survivors of torture and human trafficking who are living in the United States legally are no longer eligible for Medicaid or Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). The change stems from H.R. 1, also known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, passed by Congress last July, which strips away eligibility for healthcare coverage that refugees in need have been able to access for decades under administrations of both parties.
The Congressional Budget Office estimated the change would leave about 100,000 more people uninsured, while state data analyzed by KFF Health News shows more than 281,000 people at risk in just nine states and the District of Columbia.
“When a family loses coverage, there’s no reliable health care equivalent of a food bank,” said Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, President and CEO of Global Refuge. “These new restrictions only increase the likelihood that children and families are going to ration essential medication or put off care until a manageable problem becomes an emergency room visit. And that’s if they go to get treated at all. Many are already choosing to forgo care altogether because ICE’s presence in hospitals has created a climate of fear and anxiety, even for those with legal status.”
Many of those losing coverage have already done everything the law asks of them. People who hold green cards keep their Medicaid eligibility, and refugees can apply for one after a year in the country. Many applied on time, but nearly 150,000 refugee green card applications are now pending with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), and processing times have more than doubled since the end of 2024.
“Far too many are losing their healthcare because the government hasn’t done its part. And that’s what makes this so frustrating: it’s fixable. If the administration simply processed the applications already sitting in its backlog, many of these families could be eligible for coverage again,” said Vignarajah, “Punishing families who followed every rule is indefensible, and it’s beneath a country that chose to protect them.”
The Medicaid cuts are the first of several. In January, many lawfully present immigrants will lose help paying for marketplace insurance, and refugees enrolled in Medicare will lose that coverage. Refugees are also facing new SNAP restrictions, cuts to congressionally approved resettlement services, and re-vetting of people who were already screened and admitted.
Global Refuge is calling on the administration to immediately resume processing refugee green card applications, on state lawmakers to use their own funds and existing flexibilities to keep families covered, and on Congress, in both parties, to revisit a policy that abandons people this country promised to protect.
“These rollbacks show how fragile the system has become,” concluded Vignarajah. “Families, communities, and state budgets need durable, bipartisan solutions, including real immigration reform. Protecting people who fled war and persecution through our country’s own legal pathways has never been a partisan issue, and it shouldn’t become one now.”
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