Upcoming Federal Change to Medicaid Eligibility for Some Noncitizens

This message is an update on communications regarding the federal budget law passed in July 2025 (called H.R.1/OBBB). The federal government changed Medicaid eligibility rules for people with certain immigration statuses. Beginning on October 1, 2026, some noncitizens will no longer be eligible for full MaineCare benefits, including refugees and asylees who have not yet received a green card (Lawful Permanent Residence status). In Maine, this will not impact children with these immigration statuses who are under 21, or pregnant people through 12 months after pregnancy. Please note this eligibility change has not gone through official state rule making process by the Office for Family Independence (OFI) yet.

You can find two communication tools on the OMS website to help you and your staff understand the upcoming change, including what immigration statuses are affected, and to communicate with your affected patients about the change.

What communications have happened so far?

On June 26, 2026, OFI sent an “early awareness” letter to 426 households (627 individuals) who will likely be affected by this upcoming federal eligibility change. Based on the immigration information currently in their case, we expect these individuals will no longer qualify for full MaineCare coverage and will transition to Emergency Services MaineCare coverage only beginning in October 2026.

The letter is informational only and is not a formal Notice of Decision. DHHS offices have translated versions of the letter in the six most commonly spoken languages among the impacted population if a MaineCare member would like a copy in their primary language.

Members who use My Maine Connection received the letter in their account late on Friday, June 26. Households receiving paper letters should receive it mid-week this week, depending on mail delivery times.

How can Partners help?

  • Read the FAQ and be aware of what impacted MaineCare members can do at this time, like updating their immigration status with OFI if it has changed since May 2026 and continuing to use their healthcare benefit to access covered services.  
  • Encourage MaineCare members to read their letters. It’s how we communicate important information like changes in eligibility and renewal information.
  • Help relay that these letters are not an eligibility decision. We understand that letters discussing potential reduction of healthcare coverage can cause anxiety, but we wanted to make sure to give MaineCare members advanced notice so they can take action ahead of October 2026.

Will there be future communications? 

OFI will send members a formal Notice of Decision if and when their eligibility changes. Those notices are expected to be mailed in September 2026.OMS will continue to partner with OFI to share information about upcoming federal eligibility changes. You will see these through the following OMS communication channels: