Vermont program
Coverage when immigration status is the barrier
Vermont’s Immigrant Health Insurance Plan covers eligible uninsured children under 19 when immigration status blocks Medicaid. Eligible pregnant or postpartum people can also qualify.
What it is
Vermont’s Immigrant Health Insurance Plan covers eligible uninsured children under 19 when immigration status blocks Medicaid. Eligible pregnant or postpartum people can also qualify.
IHIP is a separate coverage route for eligible uninsured children and pregnant or postpartum people. Vermont Health Connect checks income, residence and the immigration-related coverage barrier. It is not a secondary plan behind work insurance.
Eligibility rules
- This route addresses immigration status as a barrier to Medicaid or Dr. Dynasaur.
- It is for an uninsured child under 19, or a pregnant or postpartum person, living in Vermont, whose immigration status blocks Medicaid. The income line for a child is about 317% of poverty. You can apply directly without a Medicaid refusal first.
What you get
- A separate state health coverage route to discuss with Vermont Health Connect.
What the help includes
- There is no premium or copay. It does not include some Medicaid extras such as long-term care and waiver services, and it is only for a child with no other insurance. Ask the oncology team to confirm the treating hospital is enrolled.
If you decide to apply
- Ask the hospital social worker to discuss the Immigrant Health Insurance Plan with Vermont Health Connect.
- Bring any existing coverage notice to the conversation. Ask about the direct IHIP application route; a prior Medicaid refusal is not always required.
Vermont Health Connect: 855-899-9600. · Official page ↗
After you ask
- The coverage team can explain the direct IHIP application and accepted proof of identity, age, income and Vermont residence, including document alternatives. The rule has a 45-day decision standard. Eligible coverage can include the application month and up to three earlier months with medical need; the worker checks each month. The program renews annually and allows 30 days to return the renewal form. The federal 2027 Medicaid lookback change does not automatically change this state-funded program.
Good to know
The reason coverage was refused matters. An income refusal and an immigration-status refusal raise different questions.
Other details
- The hospital social worker can join the conversation with the coverage worker.
Official sources
“If immigration status blocks our child's coverage, could this plan help? What would it cover and cost, and could you help us ask?”
Why I’m asking: I want to understand the coverage options before assuming our child cannot get help.
More background and detailed requirements
Additional program information and published rules
Who does what
The three parts, side by side. The agency decides; nobody on this page does.
You
Ask for the plan by name after a refusal.
Your social worker
The hospital social worker calls with you.
The care team
Records and letters when the application asks for them.
- Who decides
- The Department of Vermont Health Access.
- Ask your social worker
- “Our child was refused on immigration status. Can we ask about the Immigrant Health Insurance Plan?”
How to apply
First step: Call 855-899-9600 and ask about the Immigrant Health Insurance Plan.
- If a refusal names immigration status, ask for the Immigrant Health Insurance Plan by name.
- Ask the hospital social worker to make the call with you.
Official application / program page ↗
Where it starts: Ask for the Immigrant Health Insurance Plan by name on 855-899-9600.
What to gather
- The refusal notice
How long: Not published.
What a yes looks like
A named route and an application to fill in.
What a no looks like, and the next move
Ask what the plan does cover and who does qualify, in writing.
Watch out
- A direct application is possible. Coverage excludes EPSDT, long-term services and supports, and waiver-only benefits.
The numbers and the rules
The arcane layer, kept on purpose. Checked September 11, 2026.
What it is worth
State-funded coverage for eligible uninsured children and pregnancy-related categories whose immigration status blocks Medicaid, with no program premium or copay.
Covers: A coverage route to ask about by name
Legal protection: Applying for this does not change a child's treatment at the hospital
What it costs the family: No program premium or copay; covered-service, enrolled-clinician and approval requirements still apply.
The eligibility facts, as published
- Immigration
- For people who cannot get Medicaid or Dr. Dynasaur because of their immigration status
- Residency
- Vermont
The trap: IHIP is state-funded coverage with important exclusions. It does not include Medicaid's EPSDT provision, long-term services and supports or waiver-only benefits.
Where I read this
- Information for non-citizens — Vermont DVHA, read September 10, 2026