Health cover in Columbus
Who Medicaid and Medicare are for, where to apply, and what taking them does — and does not — mean for your immigration case.
Taking health cover is not the same as being a public charge
This is the reason most families here go without cover they are entitled to, so it is worth saying plainly. Using Medicaid does not, on its own, make somebody a public charge. Three things are never counted at all: emergency medical care, children's Medicaid cover, and any benefit received by your children rather than by you. Nor is a benefit counted against a person who is not subject to the rule in the first place — refugees and people granted asylum among them. The official rule is linked below. Read it, or ask an accredited representative, rather than acting on what somebody heard. One thing to know separately: Ohio has told its legislature that from 1 October 2026 refugees, people granted asylum, humanitarian parolees and trafficking victims will no longer count as qualified for Medicaid. If that is your status, ask Ohio Medicaid what it means for you before that date.
Which one is yours
- Medicare
- Age. You are turning sixty-five, or you are younger and have had a qualifying disability for some time. What you earn does not decide it.
- Ohio Medicaid
- Income. It covers adults and children under a certain income, it costs nothing or very little, and children are covered far more generously than adults. Apply at any time of year.
- HealthCare.gov
- Everyone else. If you earn above the Medicaid line you buy a plan here, and most people get a subsidy that brings the monthly cost down a long way.
- None of them
- A community health centre still treats you, charges on what you earn, and does not ask about status. Emergency rooms must treat an emergency whoever walks in.
What to do, in order
Apply for Medicaid first, whatever you expect
It costs nothing to apply and there is no season for it. People are refused all the time who would have been accepted, usually because they guessed at the rules instead of applying. If you are refused you are told why, and that letter is what you take to the next step.
If you are refused, go to HealthCare.gov
A refusal from Medicaid opens a window to buy a subsidised plan even outside the usual enrolment season. Their brokers and navigators help free, in person, and are paid whether or not you buy anything.
Apply for your children separately
Children are covered at incomes well above the adult line, and a household turned down for adults is very often accepted for the children. This is the single most common thing families here miss.
At sixty-five, watch the window
Medicare has a sign-up period around your birthday, and enrolling late can raise what you pay for the rest of your life. If you are still working and covered by an employer, ask before you delay — the answer depends on the size of the employer.
Get free advice before you answer an advertisement
OSHIIP counsellors, run by the Ohio Department of Insurance, compare Medicare plans with you and sell nothing. Anyone who telephones you about a plan is paid by whoever they sign you up with.
Ask for an interpreter, and take the letters with you
Anywhere receiving federal money must provide one free. Keep every letter with its date — a refusal, a renewal notice, a request for documents. Cover is lost far more often to a missed renewal letter than to a rule.
The words they will use
- Premium
- What you pay each month to keep the plan, whether or not you see a doctor.
- Deductible
- What you pay yourself each year before the plan starts paying.
- Copay
- The small fixed amount you hand over at a visit.
- Open enrolment
- The yearly window for buying a Health Link plan. Medicaid has none — apply whenever you need it.
- Special enrolment period
- A window outside that season, opened by a life event: losing a job or other cover, a birth, a marriage, moving here.
- Public charge
- A test applied in some immigration decisions about whether a person is likely to depend on the government for support. Much narrower than it is usually assumed to be.
- Community health centre
- A federally funded clinic that charges on what you earn and treats you whether or not you have insurance or papers.
Government offices
- Ohio Department of Medicaid — who qualifies
Whether you can get Medicaid, and how to apply. Non-citizens without qualifying status may still get Non-Citizen Emergency Medical Assistance for an emergency, and do not have to verify immigration status for it.
1-800-324-8680
Checked September 17, 2026
- Ohio Administrative Code 5160:1-2-12 — Medicaid for non-citizens
Ohio's own rule on which statuses qualify and when. Refugees, asylees, trafficking victims and several others qualify with no waiting period; others granted qualified status on or after 22 August 1996 generally wait five years, with exceptions for pregnant women and children.
Checked September 17, 2026
- Ohio Department of Medicaid — H.R.1 presentation to the Joint Medicaid Committees
Ohio's own statement that from 1 October 2026, refugees, humanitarian parolees, people granted asylum, certain abused spouses and children, trafficking victims and other non-citizens will no longer count as qualified for Medicaid and CHIP.
Ohio has told its legislature this and has published nothing written for the families it will happen to. If you or your children have coverage through one of those statuses, ask Ohio Medicaid what it means for you before that date rather than after.
Checked September 17, 2026
- Heart of Ohio Family Health
A community health centre that sees people regardless of ability to pay, on a sliding fee scale based on income and family size.
614-235-5555
There are two more sites in the corridor: 5969 E. Broad Street, Suite 300, and a school-based clinic at 561 South Yearling Rd in Whitehall.
Checked September 17, 2026
- PrimaryOne Health
A community health centre network with medical, dental and vision care across the metro.
614-705-6980
The Refugee Road site is in the corridor. There is another at 1180 East Main St, and seven more across the metro.
Checked September 17, 2026