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Health care for older immigrants sees momentum among states

Francisca Perez, 84, rearranges puzzle pieces, a part of her regular exercise to recover from rheumatoid arthritis, Wednesday, June 30, 2021, in Chicago's Little Village neighborhood. She suffers from a heart condition and depression, among other ailments. Her daughter, Eugenia Rodriguez, hasn't been eligible for insurance coverage after overstaying a visitor visa from Mexico. She used to wake up every two or three hours at night to check on her mother. Since getting health insurance through the Illinois program, her mother has all the medications she needs. (AP Photo/Shafkat Anowar) Eugenia Rodriguez shares a moment with her youngest son, Aaron, 6, while reading a children's book Friday, July 2, 2021, in Chicago's Little Village neighborhood. Rodriguez hasn't been eligible for insurance coverage after overstaying a visitor visa from Mexico. She used to wake up every two or three hours at night to check on her mother. Since getting health insurance through the Illinois program, her mother has all the medications she needs. (AP Photo/Shafkat Anowar) Francisca Perez, 84, sits on a wheelchair in her house in Chicago's Little Village neighborhood, Wednesday, June 30, 2021. She suffers from a heart condition, rheumatoid arthritis and depression, among other ailments. Her daughter, Eugenia Rodriguez, hasn't been eligible for insurance coverage after overstaying a visitor visa from Mexico. She used to wake up every two or three hours at night to check on her mother. Since getting health insurance through the Illinois program, her mother has all the medications she needs. (AP Photo/Shafkat Anowar) Eugenia Rodriguez walks in Chicago's La Villita Park, Thursday, July 1, 2021. She is required to get out for a walk or a run every morning to keep her varicose veins active and hasn't been eligible for insurance coverage after overstaying a visitor visa from Mexico. Rodriguez used to wake up every two or three hours at night to check on her mother in their Chicago home. Since getting insurance through the Illinois program, her mother has proper medications. (AP Photo/Shafkat Anowar) Maria Elena Estamilla, 62, left and her daughter Esmeralda Triquiz pose for a photo June 30, 2021, in Chicago's Pilsen neighborhood. Estamilla's last full medical exam was in 2015 and she sees no options for care as a Mexican immigrant without legal permission to live in the U.S. She's not eligible for Medicare, Medicaid or Affordable Care Act coverage. As a child care worker, she didn't have employer coverage. She can't afford private insurance. (AP Photo/Shafkat Anowar) Eugenia Rodriguez enters her house after playing ball with her son Friday, July 2, 2021, in Chicago's Little Village neighborhood. Rodriguez hasn't been eligible for insurance coverage after overstaying a visitor visa from Mexico. She used to wake up every two or three hours at night to check on her mother. Since getting health insurance through the Illinois program, her mother has all the medications she needs. (AP Photo/Shafkat Anowar) Eugenia Rodriguez, left, plays ball with her youngest son, Aaron, 6, in the backyard of her house Friday, July 2, 2021, in Chicago's Little Village neighborhood. Rodriguez hasn't been eligible for insurance coverage after overstaying a visitor visa from Mexico. She used to wake up every two or three hours at night to check on her mother. Since getting health insurance through the Illinois program, her mother has all the medications she needs. (AP Photo/Shafkat Anowar) Eugenia Rodriguez, right, and her 84-year-old non-citizen mother, Francisca Perez, pose for a portrait in their house Wednesday, June 30, 2021, in Chicago's Little Village neighborhood. Rodriguez hasn't been eligible for insurance coverage after overstaying a visitor visa from Mexico. She used to wake up every two or three hours at night to check on her mother. Since getting health insurance through the Illinois program, her mother has all the medications she needs. (AP Photo/Shafkat Anowar) Maria Elena Estamilla, 62, sheds tear while sharing her struggle of remaining without an insurance, Wednesday, June 30, 2021, at her house in Chicago's Pilsen neighborhood. Most mornings, Estamilla wakes up with pelvic pain and dread that she faces the same fate as her mother and grandmother: fatal cervical cancer. (AP Photo/Shafkat Anowar) Eugenia Rodriguez, left, looks toward her 84-year-old, non-citizen mother, Francisca Perez, who colors a book, a part of her regular exercise to recover rheumatoid arthritis, Wednesday, June 30, 2021, in their house in Chicago's Little Village neighborhood. Rodriguez hasn't been eligible for insurance coverage after overstaying a visitor visa from Mexico. She used to wake up every two or three hours at night to check on her mother. Since getting health insurance through the Illinois program, her mother has all the medications she needs. (AP Photo/Shafkat Anowar) Francisca Perez, 84, sits by the dining table on a wheelchair in her house in Chicago's Little Village neighborhood, Wednesday, June 30, 2021. She suffers from a heart condition, rheumatoid arthritis and depression, among other ailments. Her daughter, Eugenia Rodriguez, hasn't been eligible for insurance coverage after overstaying a visitor visa from Mexico. She used to wake up every two or three hours at night to check on her mother. Since getting health insurance through the Illinois program, her mother has all the medications she needs. (AP Photo/Shafkat Anowar) Members of Health Illinois coalition celebrate the extension of state health insurance coverage to older immigrants, ages 55 and over, living in the country illegally, Tuesday, July 20, 2021, in Chicago's Pilsen neighborhood. The state was the first nationwide to offer a Medicaid-like program for immigrant seniors last year and used this year's budget to expand the program. (AP Photo/Shafkat Anowar) Eugenia Rodriguez holds the hand of her youngest son, Aaron, 6, while reading from the Bible in her house, Friday, July 2, 2021, in Chicago's Little Village neighborhood. Rodriguez hasn't been eligible for insurance coverage after overstaying a visitor visa from Mexico. She used to wake up every two or three hours at night to check on her mother. Since getting health insurance through the Illinois program, her mother has all the medications she needs. (AP Photo/Shafkat Anowar) Eugenia Rodriguez, right, maneuvers the wheelchair with her 84-year-old mother, Francisca Perez, who suffers from a heart condition, rheumatoid arthritis and depression, among other ailments, Wednesday, June 30, 2021, in their house in Chicago's Little Village neighborhood. Rodriguez hasn't been eligible for insurance coverage after overstaying a visitor visa from Mexico. She used to wake up every two or three hours at night to check on her mother. Since getting health insurance through the Illinois program, her mother has all the medications she needs. (AP Photo/Shafkat Anowar)