Health Insurance Tool Kit for Refugees and Immigrants

This tool kit, prepared by the Research Foundation of SUNY, was designed to help refugees in the Buffalo, New York area enroll in health insurance.

It includes guides to health insurance in six languages: Arabic, Burmese, English, Karen, Vietnamese, and Somali. Each guide contains information on the eligibility and documentation criteria of various programs, as well as contact information for where refugees and immigrants can enroll. This project is supported by a NYHealth grant.

Medical students worked with local refugee resettlement organizations and local immigrant groups from various countries to develop and translate the brochures. In addition to providing Medicaid enrollment information in five languages, the tool kit includes resources that explain to refugees what they may expect in a physicians office and explains cultural differences among the refugee groups to ensure culturally competent providers.