The recently enacted CHIP reauthorization law includes a number of programmatic and financing changes that affect both Medicaid and CHIP. One of these changes is a new option, often referred to as “ICHIA,” that allows states to receive federal funds for providing Medicaid and CHIP coverage to lawfully residing immigrant children and pregnant women regardless of their date of entry. Previously, states had been prohibited from using federal Medicaid or CHIP funds to cover legal immigrants who had been in the country less than five years, under restrictions enacted as part of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA).

This brief is part of a series that puts a spotlight on specific provisions of the CHIP law.