Many recent, and even long term, immigrants to the United States do not have health insurance, with many being in jobs that simply do not offer such coverage. Yet there are some health insurance immigrant policies out there, and immigrants, like regular Americans, have the option to shop around for various health insurance quotes before deciding on a policy and a provider that is right for them.

The three primary health insurance policies that can be provided to immigrants are available courtesy of Medicaid, SCHIP (the State Children's Health Insurance Program) and through Private Health Insurance. Medicaid does offer immigrant policies, though it has been discovered that many immigrants find it very difficult to qualify for the benefit, despite their obvious low income, thanks to the bill known as PRWORA (Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act) that was passed by Congress in 1996 to prevent immigrants for claiming benefits within the first five years of their residency. Even after those five years are up, however, many immigrants have still found great difficulty in being able to claim Medicaid as their partner's income is factored into their own.

SCHIP, as the name implies, only offers health insurance quotes to the children of immigrants. Nonetheless, low income immigrants could still use the program to provide health insurance for their offspring. Unfortunately, however, the PRWORA policy also applies here, again preventing immigrants from giving their children health insurance for the first five years of their residency.

Because of the PRWORA factor, the best option for many immigrants, at least those who are in their first five years of residency in the United States, is to take out some form of Private Health Insurance. Those immigrants on a reasonably high level of income will have no trouble finding a provider, but those immigrants on a low income may find this to be a considerably more challenging prospect.

The specter of PRWORA has another cost. Due to so many immigrants being ineligible, many simply do not apply for Medicaid or SCHIP at all, despite the fact that many of them would qualify if they did so. Lack of awareness and fear of the system can block many from receiving the very care that they so need and would in actuality qualify for.

Because of the cost and difficulties of acquiring health insurance, many low income immigrants may be tempted to get by without it, but this is highly inadvisable. Medical costs in the United States continue to spiral ever higher, and a health insurance plan, however painful the cost may initially seem, is vital to protecting the welfare of private individuals and their loved ones.