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).
Key difference in this state
Illinois covers immigrants by group, and its coverage for undocumented adults has been sharply cut back. (1) Children โ All Kids covers income-eligible children under 19 regardless of immigration status (HFS states plainly that children who meet the other requirements can get All Kids regardless of immigration status); this continues. (2) Pregnant people โ Moms & Babies covers pregnant people regardless of immigration status, continuing through 12 months postpartum; this continues. (3) Adults 42-64 โ Illinois previously ran a state-funded program, Health Benefits for Immigrant Adults (HBIA), covering income-eligible noncitizens (including undocumented) regardless of status. ๐ด Due to the state's FY2026 budget, HBIA ENDED effective July 1, 2025; the last day of HBIA coverage was June 30, 2025. Illinois NO LONGER enrolls or gives comprehensive coverage to undocumented/ineligible adults ages 19-64. People who lost HBIA keep access only to Emergency Medical for Noncitizens (time-limited emergency services, including labor and delivery), Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), and free/charitable clinics; those with a documented status may qualify for the ACA Marketplace. (4) Seniors 65+ โ the companion state-funded program, Health Benefits for Immigrant Seniors (HBIS), still covers already-enrolled seniors 65+ regardless of status, but NEW enrollment has been PAUSED since November 6, 2023 โ new applications are not accepted. (5) Everyone else โ standard, federally funded Illinois Medicaid (ACA adults, AABD) still requires U.S. citizen or qualified-noncitizen status (generally a green-card holder past the 5-year bar, refugees/asylees, etc.). This is a fast-changing, high-stakes area โ always check the latest official HFS guidance. Do NOT assume Illinois covers undocumented adults: for ages 42-64 that coverage ended July 1, 2025, and for seniors 65+ new enrollment is closed.
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 โ EBT has been the sole method of SNAP issuance in all states since June 2004 โ 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 โ 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.
Key difference in this state
๐ด The honest headline for Illinois: unlike Washington, Illinois does not run a state-funded food program that catches immigrants federal SNAP leaves out โ so if the 2025 federal law removes you from SNAP because of your immigration status, there is currently no Illinois food benefit that automatically takes its place. (1) Who the federal law cuts. IDHS states plainly: "Refugees, asylees, and human trafficking survivors are among the lawfully present immigrants who may lose SNAP benefits." These are people lawfully present in the U.S. who now lose federal SNAP solely because of their immigration category. (2) ๐ด What Illinois offers in their place โ and what it does not. We did not find any IDHS state-funded food program built to replace SNAP for these immigrants. IDHS instead directs people to community food resources: "Emergency food assistance is available at local food pantries," plus the Family Support Hotline (1-855-435-7693) run by the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR), and the Illinois Welcoming Centers. Treat community pantries and hotlines as the realistic fallback, not a state SNAP substitute. (3) ๐ What is unchanged. IDHS states: "At this time, there will not be any changes to any cash or medical benefits that eligible noncitizens receive through the Illinois Department of Human Services or the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services." So this food change does not by itself touch your cash or medical benefits. A mixed-status household should still apply for its eligible members โ most importantly U.S.-citizen children โ because SNAP is not a public charge test (see the shared program page). (4) ๐ด Do not confuse food with health. Illinois separately narrowed some immigrant health coverage (the HBIA program) in 2025 โ that is a health-program change, not a food/SNAP change, and it is not what this row is about. This is a changing area; confirm your own category with IDHS or the Family Support Hotline.
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 โ 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 โ 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.
Key difference in this state
๐ This is the answer to the question the federal layer leaves open. Federal rules let a state choose to limit WIC to U.S. citizens, nationals, and qualified aliens (7 CFR 246.7(c)(3)) โ Illinois has not taken that option, and IDHS says so on its own page: "WIC does not ask for or keep information about visa status or citizenship." The same guidance lists what actually matters: being an infant, a child up to age five, or a pregnant, breastfeeding, or postpartum person; living in Illinois; and having income at or below 185% of the federal poverty guidelines. Immigration status is not among the criteria. ๐ Read that as an affirmative statement of state policy, not merely an absence of a contrary rule: IDHS does not simply omit a citizenship test โ it states that it does not ask for or keep information about visa status or citizenship at all. ๐ If your household already receives Medicaid, SNAP, or TANF, you are automatically income eligible. ๐ด One short reassurance, with the detail on the WIC program page: WIC is not counted in the public charge test. Policy can change โ confirm with the Illinois State WIC Office (1-844-901-0962) or your local WIC office.
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 โ and maybe increase your refund." The key word is refundable โ 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 โ 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 โ 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 โ see your state's details.
Key difference in this state
๐ This is the most valuable fact on this page for immigrant families. The federal EITC requires a Social Security number valid for employment, so a family that files with ITINs cannot claim it โ see the federal rule for this program. Illinois is different: the Illinois Department of Revenue opens its own Earned Income Tax Credit to ITIN filers. Its qualifications page lists as a requirement that you "Have a valid Social Security number (SSN) or IRS-issued Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) by the due date of your 2025 return (including extensions)," and adds that "for the Illinois EITC, a qualifying child may have a valid SSN or ITIN." Illinois also removed the federal age limits for workers without a qualifying child โ "This includes taxpayers ages 18-24 and 65 and older without a qualifying child" โ who are shut out of the federal credit. The Illinois EITC is 20% of the federal credit: "Illinois EITC is calculated as 20% of the federal EITC and is adjusted based upon filing status, income, and the number of qualifying children you are claiming." ๐ In plain terms: a working family in Illinois that files with ITINs, and therefore cannot claim the federal EITC, may still claim the Illinois EITC โ a refundable credit worth 20% of the federal amount they would otherwise qualify for. We say may, not will โ you must still meet every other requirement, including the income and investment-income limits and being a U.S. citizen or resident alien all year. ๐ด Note the boundary: this is Illinois's own credit. Claiming the Illinois EITC with an ITIN does not make you eligible for the federal EITC and does not change your immigration status.
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 โ as a separate CHIP, as a Medicaid-expansion CHIP, or both โ 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.
Key difference in this state
In Illinois, CHIP is delivered through All Kids, and for children the headline is good news: HFS states that "As long as children meet the other requirements, they can get All Kids regardless of immigration status," and describes All Kids as the program "for children who need comprehensive, affordable, health insurance, regardless of immigration status or health condition." So a child's immigration status is not a barrier to All Kids. Note the funding split โ it does not change what your family receives: federal CHIP (Title XXI) dollars may only pay for citizen and lawfully-residing children, so Illinois uses state funds to cover income-eligible undocumented children through the same All Kids program; your child applies once and gets the same benefit. This children's coverage is separate from, and unaffected by, Illinois's sharp 2025-2026 cutbacks to state-funded coverage for undocumented ADULTS (HBIA for ages 42-64 ended July 1, 2025, and HBIS for seniors 65+ has been closed to new enrollment since November 6, 2023) โ those changes hit adults, not children. This is a changing area; check the latest official HFS guidance.
This page lists only the programs we've covered so far โ it does not mean these are the only benefits in this state.