A state health insurance program for immigrant adults is at risk of getting cut. One 46-year-old women is among those enrolled on the state’s insurance plan called Healthcare Benefits for Immigrant Adults – or HBIA.
She’s managing several health conditions including chronic kidney stones. She works as a nanny and her employer doesn’t offer health insurance.
“The program brings me peace and security” she said, “knowing that I don’t have to be stressed and afraid that if I get sick and have to go to the emergency room, how much will the bill come out to.”
To qualify for HBIA, an individual must be an Illinois resident, age 42 to 64, earn below the federal poverty level and have no legal status. It provides an option since undocumented residents aren't eligible for Medicaid or to purchase a plan on the Affordable Care Act marketplace.
She's lived in Aurora for 15 years. It’s where she’s raising her American born daughters.
“As human beings we have a right to health care,” she said. “We pay our taxes. I think the minimum benefit government ought to provide us is health insurance.”
HBIA launched in 2022 to cover 55- to 64-year-olds. The qualifying age was lowered to 42 the same year. The program is paid for completely by the state.
Gov. JB Pritzker cut out HBIA in his fiscal year 2026 budget proposal, citing the expense.
A review by the Illinois Auditor General confirms the state severely underestimated how many people would sign up and how much it would cost.
From its start to 2023, it was estimated that the cost would be $58 million.T he actual price tag was nearly three times higher.
State Senator Karina Villa, of West Chicago, is a huge proponent of the health care program. She said amid anti-immigrant sentiment spurred by President Donald Trump, immigrants are essential part of the community and state.
“Those of us who are those birthright babies, we are tasked with standing up,” she said, “along with our allies and reminding folks, ‘these are our neighbors. These are the people we grew up with. These are people who were brought here when they were children.’”
HBIA gives access to primary care doctors and specialists, which incentivizes preventative care. Health providers such as Erie Health Family Center tell WNIJ that can help people avoid expensive emergency hospital visits when a chronic condition worsens.
“These are folks who are doing hard jobs,” Villa said, “and they are finally able to go get physical therapy and X-rays. These are folks who found out that they had diabetes, so they started getting diabetic medication.”
She says the challenge now is finding new revenue sources, especially in light of threats to federal cuts that, if enacted, would put a strain on the state budget.
Congress is considering making reductions to education funding and social safety net programs that serve seniors and veterans to cover the cost of extending tax cuts and pay for Trump’s mass deportation efforts.
“Question is, what are we going to do to respond to that?” said Jeremy Rosen, director of economic justice at the Shriver Center on Poverty Law. "And as we look at it, the budget as introduced by the governor hasn't really responded to that.”
Rosen is also a spokesperson for the Illinois Revenue Alliance, which is made up of advocacy groups and nonprofit service providers. They advocate for new taxes on the wealthy -- “millionaires, billionaires, the wealthiest corporations in our state,” he said -- to generate new revenue funding for the state.
Their proposals include taxes on digital sale ads and increased taxes in capital gains of over $250,000.
Republican State Senator Sue Rezin of Morris opposes HBIA.
She like other Republicans says the program attracts "illegal” immigrants to the state. She refers to the surge in asylum seekers to Illinois that arrived in buses coordinated by Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott beginning in 2022.
WNIJ has reported that a majority of migrants would not qualify for the Medicaid program because they don’t meet the age requirement. A Department of Homeland Security report found that, from 2019 to 2021, 63% of asylees were 34 and younger. The median age for asylees was 29 years old.
And asylum seekers and refugees are already eligible for health coverage through the ACA Marketplace.
Also, she doesn’t support new taxes, since, she said, the state already spends too much.
“At some point we need to look at controlling the spending,” Rezin said. “We can certainly, with a $53 billion budget, should be able to provide for important programs.”
Advocates for HBIA funding are seeking to gain enough support with Democrats, who hold power in the General Assembly.
Lawmakers are expected to pass a state budget for fiscal year 2026 by the end of the month.
