Only those individuals in a family who are applying for health insurance are required to provide citizenship and immigration status. Applicants also must provide a Social Security number if they have one.
Citizenship and immigration status for those applying for health insurance will be checked electronically with several systems, including the Social Security Administration, the Department of Homeland Security, and SAVE (Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements). The Marketplaces must protect individuals’ information and keep it private. Information can be used only for eligibility and enrollment purposes. (45 C.F.R. § 155.260.)
If an individual’s status cannot be checked through an electronic match, the individual can give other documentation of his or her status. The eligibility notice from the Marketplace will indicate whether there is a data matching issue (DMI) and ask the individual to submit documentation verifying citizenship or immigration status within 95 days to resolve the DMI. The Marketplace will also send 60- and 30-day warning notices to submit documentation and resolve the DMI. The eligibility and warning notices will include a list of acceptable documents and instructions on how to submit them. (45 C.F.R. § 155.315; CMS Health Insurance Marketplace, Immigrant Eligibility for Marketplace and Medicaid and CHIP Coverage.)