Medicaid
Public health insurance for low-income people, jointly funded by the federal and state governments. It covers doctor visits, hospital care, prescriptions, pregnancy, and children's care. States run it under federal rules, and each state has its own name and details (California calls it Medi-Cal).
이 주의 주요 차이점
Maryland's Medicaid immigrant rules, grounded in the Maryland Department of Health (MDH) and Maryland Health Connection official pages, read in layers: (1) General rule — for full Medicaid or the Maryland Children's Health Program (MCHP), most noncitizens must have a qualified noncitizen status and wait five years after getting that status. (2) Children and pregnant people are exempt from the five-year wait (Maryland adopted the ICHIA option): MDH states that if you are pregnant, or under age 21 and lawfully present but not yet a qualified noncitizen, you may apply for full Medicaid and do not have to wait five years. (3) 🌟 Pregnant people of ANY immigration status, including undocumented: under the Healthy Babies Equity Act (effective July 1, 2023), noncitizen pregnant individuals of any immigration status can get full Medicaid with income up to 250% FPL — coverage runs through pregnancy and for four months after birth, and Medicaid may pay for care up to three months before you applied. (4) Emergency Medicaid, including childbirth, is available to non-qualified noncitizens who are otherwise eligible, regardless of status. (5) 🔴 An honest limit — undocumented children who are NOT pregnant and NOT lawfully present are NOT covered by full Maryland Medicaid or MCHP (only emergency services); Maryland has not extended full children's coverage to undocumented children the way California, Illinois, New York, or New Jersey have. (6) 🔴 A federal change is coming: effective October 1, 2026, the federal OBBBA (H.R.1) narrows Medicaid eligibility for some lawfully present noncitizen groups — that federal rule lives on the shared Medicaid program page and is not restated here. This is a changing area; verify your own situation with Maryland Health Connection or your local health department.
Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP)
Public health coverage for children in families whose income is too high to qualify for Medicaid but too low to afford private coverage. It is jointly funded by the federal and state governments (Title XXI of the Social Security Act). Each state designs and runs its own program under federal rules — as a separate CHIP, as a Medicaid-expansion CHIP, or both — so the name, income limits, and details differ by state (state eligibility levels range from about 170% to 400% of the Federal Poverty Level). Besides children, some states' separate CHIP programs also cover pregnant women.
이 주의 주요 차이점
Maryland's CHIP is the Maryland Children's Health Program (MCHP). It is applied for through the same Maryland Health Connection entry as Medicaid and delivered by the same HealthChoice managed care organizations (MCOs), so this page renders inside the Medicaid children's section. Immigrant rules (officially grounded): (1) MCHP requires a child to 'be a U.S. Citizen or a qualified non-citizen' (see the eligibility list below). (2) 🌟 Lawfully present children under 21 skip the five-year wait (Maryland adopted ICHIA): MDH states that a lawfully present child under 21 who is not yet a qualified noncitizen may apply for full Medicaid/MCHP without waiting five years. (3) 🌟 Prenatal / pregnancy: pregnant people of any immigration status (including undocumented) are covered up to 250% FPL under the Healthy Babies Equity Act (July 1, 2023) — including prenatal care, delivery, and four months postpartum; their newborn is generally covered for the first year of life. (4) 🔴 An honest limit: undocumented children who are not pregnant and not lawfully present are NOT covered by MCHP (only emergency Medicaid) — Maryland has not extended full children's coverage to undocumented children generally the way CA/IL/NY/NJ have. This is a changing area; rely on the latest official guidance.
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, "food stamps")
Monthly food benefits that help low-income households buy the food they need. Benefits come on an Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) card — EBT has been the sole method of SNAP issuance in all states since June 2004 — which you swipe like a bank card at authorized grocery stores. The benefit amount is based on the USDA's Thrifty Food Plan, updated each year to keep pace with food prices, and depends on your household size and how much monthly income is left after certain expenses are deducted. It is a federal program (USDA Food and Nutrition Service), but state public assistance agencies run it through their local offices — you must apply in the state where you currently live, so the application and the local name vary by state (California calls it CalFresh). Benefits generally arrive no later than 30 days after the office receives your application; households with little or no money that need help right away may get benefits within 7 days.
이 주의 주요 차이점
Maryland runs SNAP as the Food Supplement Program (FSP) through the Department of Human Services (DHS) and local Departments of Social Services (DSS); the online front door is myMDTHINK. Immigrant rules: (1) Federal rule (grounded on DHS): some noncitizens are not eligible, with exceptions for refugees, asylees, people whose deportation has been withheld, Cuban/Haitian entrants, Amerasians, some lawful permanent residents (green-card holders), parolees, people granted conditional entry, and certain battered spouses and children; certain Iraqi/Afghan immigrants, trafficking victims, and Hmong/Laotian tribal members may also qualify. (2) 🌟 Mixed-status families: DHS states that even if some household members are not eligible, those who are may still get food supplement benefits — so do not rule your whole family out. (3) The broader federal SNAP immigrant change (OBBBA / H.R.1 Section 10108) and the five-year rule live on the shared SNAP program page and are not restated here. (4) 🔴 An honest limit: we did not find a Maryland state-funded food program built for immigrants who are excluded from SNAP by status (Maryland has no equivalent of California's CFAP); undocumented Marylanders who are ineligible by status generally cannot get food benefits. Verify your own situation with your local DSS or by calling 2-1-1.
Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)
Nutrition support for pregnancy and early childhood. In USDA's own words, WIC "serves to safeguard the health of low-income pregnant, postpartum, and breastfeeding women, infants, and children up to age 5 who are at nutritional risk by providing nutritious foods to supplement diets, information on healthy eating including breastfeeding promotion and support, and referrals to health care." Coverage runs from pregnancy until a child turns 5: pregnant women; postpartum women (up to 6 months after the end of a pregnancy); breastfeeding women (up to the infant's first birthday); infants; and children up to their fifth birthday. Every applicant first gets a free, simple health check by WIC staff, and must be individually determined to be at nutrition risk by a health professional — two major types are recognized: medically-based risks such as anemia, underweight, a history of pregnancy complications, or poor pregnancy outcomes; and dietary risks such as inappropriate feeding practices or failure to meet the current Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Food benefits come on an eWIC card, which works just like a debit card and can be used at WIC-approved grocery stores and farmers' markets. Benefits are not limited to food: they also include health screening, nutrition and breastfeeding counseling, immunization screening and referral, and substance abuse referral. It is a federal program (USDA), but in USDA's words, "while funded through grants from the Federal Government, WIC is administered by 89 State agencies," with services at county health departments, hospitals, schools, Indian Health Service facilities, and other clinic locations — you apply through a WIC agency in your area, so the local name and process vary. Moms, dads, foster parents, and anyone else raising kids under 5 can apply for the kids in their care.
이 주의 주요 차이점
🌟 WIC is one of the few benefits with no immigration-status test at all, and Maryland's own eligibility rules do not add one. The federal WIC program (run in Maryland by the Maryland Department of Health, MDH) sets four eligibility tests and no others: you fall in a category WIC serves (pregnant, postpartum or breastfeeding, an infant, or a child under 5); you live in Maryland; your household's gross income is at or below 185% of the federal poverty level (or you are on Medical Assistance/Medicaid, SNAP, TANF/TCA, or in Foster Care, which meets the income test automatically); and a health professional finds you to be at nutritional risk. Citizenship and immigration status are not among these four — USDA's own WIC eligibility summary lists the same four criteria with no citizenship requirement. 🔴 An honest limit on what we can show you from Maryland's own pages: MDH's public WIC pages state these four tests but do not carry an explicit sentence saying that immigration status is not a factor or that a Social Security number is not required — we looked and did not find one. The points that matter most to immigrant families — that WIC has no immigration-status eligibility bar, that a Social Security number is not required to enroll a child, and that WIC is not counted for the public charge test — belong to WIC's federal framework and are carried on the shared WIC program page, not restated here. 🔴 Verify your own situation with a local Maryland WIC clinic (1-800-242-4942); do not assume you are ineligible.
Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)
A refundable federal tax credit for low- to moderate-income working people and families. In the IRS's words, the EITC "helps low- to moderate-income workers and families get a tax break. If you qualify, you can use the credit to reduce the taxes you owe – and maybe increase your refund." The key word is refundable — as the IRS puts it, "This is a refundable credit, so you can get back more than you pay in taxes." In plain terms: you can get money back even if you owe no tax at all. You must have earned income (wages, salary, tips, or self-employment income), and you claim it on your federal tax return — there is no separate application form, no office to visit, and no waiting list. The credit is larger if you have qualifying children, but workers without any children can also get a smaller version. For tax year 2025 (the return you file in 2026), the maximum credit is $649 with no qualifying children, $4,328 with one, $7,152 with two, and $8,046 with three or more. The tax year 2025 income cutoffs (adjusted gross income) are $19,104 (single, head of household, married filing separately, or qualifying surviving spouse) or $26,214 (married filing jointly) with no children; $50,434 / $57,554 with one child; $57,310 / $64,430 with two; and $61,555 / $68,675 with three or more. Investment income must be $11,950 or less for tax year 2025. These amounts are adjusted every year — rely on the IRS tables for the year you are actually filing. This is a purely federal program, administered directly by the IRS under one nationwide set of rules; states have no role in the federal EITC. But note: separately from this federal credit, many states and some local governments run their own state EITC, usually set as a percentage of the federal credit, varying in whether it is refundable, and sometimes with different rules — see your state's details.
이 주의 주요 차이점
🌟 This is the most valuable fact on this page for immigrant workers: Maryland's Earned Income Tax Credit is open to people who file with an ITIN, even though the federal EITC is not. The Comptroller of Maryland's official 2025 EITC notice states plainly: "Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) filers and childless adults aged 18-24 may qualify for the Maryland credit, even though they are not eligible for the federal credit." The Comptroller's EITC page adds that "Maryland residents who file taxes using an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN)... are also eligible for the Maryland EITC." 🔑 So a working family in Maryland whose members file with ITINs — and who therefore cannot claim the federal EITC no matter how much they work or pay in tax — may still be able to claim the Maryland EITC, which is a refundable credit the Comptroller describes as worth "up to $4,000." This opening is set by Maryland law (the 2021 RELIEF Act first opened the credit to ITIN filers, and the 2023 Family Prosperity Act made it permanent); we ground the current rule on the Comptroller's own 2025 statements rather than on the statute text. 🔴 We say may, not will — you must still meet every other requirement (earned income within the limits below, Maryland residency, a valid return). 🔴 Note the boundary: this is Maryland's own credit. Claiming the Maryland EITC with an ITIN does not make you eligible for the federal EITC and does not change your immigration status. In the Comptroller's words, receiving the EITC "will not affect your eligibility for other government programs"; the public charge question belongs to the shared program page and is not restated here.
Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) is a monthly federal cash payment from the Social Security Administration (SSA) for people who have very little income and few resources AND who are age 65 or older, blind, or have a qualifying disability (children can qualify too). To get SSI, your countable resources must stay under $2,000 for an individual or $3,000 for a couple. It is run directly by the federal government under one nationwide standard — the 2026 maximum federal payment is $994/month for an individual and $1,491/month for a couple — and some states add a small state supplement on top.
이 주의 주요 차이점
🔴 SSI (Supplemental Security Income) is a federal program run by the Social Security Administration (SSA) — who can get it and the immigration rules (why you generally must be a "qualified alien," the exemptions for refugees/asylees/certain veterans, and the limits after PRWORA in 1996) all live in this program's federal rule and are not repeated here; rely on this program's federal rule and the SSA. This row carries only the Maryland layer. (1) Maryland does add an Optional State Supplement on top of federal SSI, but with an important limit. Per the SSA's program description of Maryland's state supplementation, the "Optional state supplement [is] provided to all aged, blind, and disabled individuals living in a care home or in an assisted living facility and who are eligible for payments under the SSI program or who would be eligible except for income," and "Children are not eligible for optional supplementation." 🔴🌟 The key distinction: Maryland pays this supplement only for care-home or assisted-living residents — like Texas, Florida, and Georgia, and unlike Pennsylvania, it pays NO state supplement to SSI recipients who live independently. The supplement is state-funded and administered by Maryland's Family Investment Administration through your local county social services agency, and you apply at a local social services office. (2) 🔴🔴 Cash is not health coverage: SSI recipients in Maryland generally get Medicaid automatically, but that is medical and separate from any cash supplement — do not conflate them. 🔴 One honest boundary, so you are not misled the other way: Maryland's Optional State Supplement goes only to people who already qualify for federal SSI (or would but for income). We did not find a California-CAPI-style state-funded cash program aimed at aged, blind, or disabled immigrants shut out of federal SSI by their immigration status. So if federal immigration rules keep you from federal SSI, Maryland's supplement does not reach you either. Verify your own situation with the SSA or your county Department of Social Services.
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) gives time-limited monthly cash assistance and work supports to low-income families with children, to help them achieve economic security and stability. The federal government sends each state a block grant, and each state designs and runs its own TANF program under its own name (California calls it CalWORKs) with its own benefit amounts and rules. States set the monthly cash amount, add work-participation requirements, and set time limits within the federal 60-month (5-year) lifetime cap on federally funded assistance. Besides the monthly cash grant, TANF also funds services such as childcare, job training, and transportation.
이 주의 주요 차이점
🔴 TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) has a federal immigration layer — why you generally must be a "qualified alien," and how categories like refugees/asylees and qualified immigrants past the five-year point apply — all in this program's federal rule, not repeated here; rely on this program's federal rule. This row carries only Maryland's execution. Maryland calls TANF "Temporary Cash Assistance" (TCA), run by the Maryland Department of Human Services (DHS), Family Investment Administration (FIA), through your county Local Department of Social Services; the online application entry point is MarylandBenefits.gov. 🔑 Who it serves: per Maryland DHS, TCA is "Maryland's Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program," providing cash to "families with dependent children when available resources do not fully address the family's needs" while "preparing program participants for independence through work." A few requirements deserve attention: (1) a work requirement — DHS says recipients must "Participate in work activities"; (2) child-support cooperation — "Family must cooperate with child support"; and (3) an income test — "Earned and unearned income cannot exceed the benefit level paid for the assistance unit size." 🔴 In addition, TANF carries a federal lifetime time limit (generally 60 months / five years); that federal limit belongs to this program's federal rule — rely on official sources. Rely on your county Local Department of Social Services and DHS for amounts, requirements, and exemptions.
Unemployment Insurance (UI)
Unemployment Insurance is temporary weekly cash paid to workers who lost their job through no fault of their own, to help you get by while you look for the next one. It is funded by taxes paid by employers (federal FUTA and state SUTA) — workers generally do not pay into it. It is a joint federal-state program: each state runs its own unemployment insurance program under shared federal rules, so eligibility, the weekly amount, and how many weeks you can receive vary by state. You apply in the state where you worked. To qualify you generally must be unemployed through no fault of your own, meet a work-and-wages threshold in a "base period," and be currently able to work, available to work right away, and actively looking for work. The first payment usually arrives two to three weeks after you file.
이 주의 주요 차이점
🔴 Unemployment Insurance (UI) is an earned, insurance-type benefit, not a means-tested public benefit — see this program's federal rule (why it is generally not subject to PRWORA's "qualified alien" / five-year-bar rules, and the OBBBA federal-funding limit on high earners with $1,000,000+ base-period wages, both live there and are not repeated here). This row carries only the immigration points as Maryland applies them. Maryland UI is administered by the Maryland Department of Labor, Division of Unemployment Insurance. UI eligibility has two sides: financial (you must have earned enough wages in your "base period") and non-financial (you must be unemployed through no fault of your own, be able and available to work, and actively look for work). 🔑 Work authorization is key: to collect UI you generally must have been authorized to work in the U.S. when you earned those base-period wages, and you must now be able, available, and authorized to work. So this is an earned route: it does not look at how low your income is, but it does require work authorization both then and now. State rules differ — rely on the state where you worked (here, the Maryland Department of Labor).
Section 8 / Housing Choice Voucher
The Housing Choice Voucher — commonly called "Section 8" — is federal rental assistance that helps very-low-income families, the elderly, and people with disabilities rent decent, safe, and sanitary housing in the private market. The funds come from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the program is run locally by public housing agencies (PHAs), usually state or local government entities. You find your own rental unit that meets program housing-quality standards; after the PHA approves the unit and tenancy, it pays the rent subsidy directly to the landlord. If the rent is at or below the local "payment standard," you generally pay about 30 percent of your adjusted monthly income toward rent, and the subsidy covers the rest. It is the nation's largest rental-assistance program, helping about 2.3 million families. Because funding is limited, many areas keep a waiting list.
이 주의 주요 차이점
🔴 There is no separate Maryland state immigrant rule for Section 8, because there is no statewide Maryland Section 8 — each of Maryland's local PHAs applies HUD's federal noncitizen rules. Those federal rules (at least one household member must have an eligible immigration status, and "mixed" families can receive prorated assistance rather than being turned away entirely) live on this program's shared federal page and are not repeated here. As HUD states for Maryland, a Public Housing Authority determines Housing Choice Voucher eligibility "based on the total annual gross income and family size, U.S. citizenship and specified categories of non-citizens who have eligible immigration status," and to apply you "contact your local Public Housing Authority." 🌟 We did not find a currently operating Maryland state-level rental-voucher program with a broader-than-federal immigrant rule to add here: Maryland's state housing agency, DHCD, finances and manages affordable-housing programs (such as Low-Income Housing Tax Credit properties), and even where it administers Housing Choice Vouchers as a PHA in some jurisdictions it applies the same federal rules, not a state-funded voucher with a broader immigrant rule. This row therefore claims no state expansion beyond the federal rule. Rely on your local PHA for how status is verified.
LIHEAP (Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program)
The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) helps low-income households pay their home energy costs — mainly heating (winter) and cooling (summer) bills, plus energy-crisis aid (for example, when you face a shutoff or need reconnection), light home weatherization, and minor heating-equipment repair or replacement. It is a federally funded block grant managed by the Office of Community Services within HHS (HHS/ACF/OCS), and then run by each state, territory, and tribe, which set their own eligibility rules and application process. 🔴 LIHEAP does not send cash directly to individuals and never charges a fee; you apply through your state's or tribe's energy-assistance agency. The federal income ceiling is 150% of the poverty level, or 60% of state median income if that is higher; many states also grant "categorical eligibility" to households that receive TANF, SSI, SNAP, or needs-tested veterans' benefits.
이 주의 주요 차이점
🔴🔴 Safety-critical, verified against the official verbatim text — and Maryland's approach is unlike Virginia's: it does not flatly require "qualified alien" status. Maryland's OHEP generally asks the applicant household to provide Social Security numbers — officially, "applicants must provide a social security card for all household members." But the same official FAQ sets out a protective path for mixed-status households: "Customers that are undocumented or do not have a social security number should be referred to the local Office of Home Energy Programs (OHEP) for additional information. Undocumented customers might be eligible if there are others in the household with social security numbers." 🔴 Read two equally important facts that guard against the "second error" (scaring off people who may in fact be eligible): (1) do not assert "anyone regardless of status can get it" — Maryland generally verifies through household members' Social Security numbers. (2) Do not scare off mixed-status families — 🌟 crucially, Maryland officially states that if there are others in the household with Social Security numbers, a household can still be eligible even if it includes an undocumented member; the benefit offsets your energy bill and is not cash handed to you. So having one member without status does not automatically bar the whole family. If you or a family member has no Social Security number, follow the official guidance and contact your local OHEP about your own situation before deciding — do not conclude on your own that you do not qualify. The federal "qualified alien" framework (lawful permanent residents, refugees, asylees, and so on) lives on this program's shared federal page.
이 페이지에는 현재까지 수록된 복지 항목만 나열되어 있으며, 이 주에 이 항목들만 있다는 의미는 아닙니다.