Biden Administration Aims to Expand Healthcare Access for Immigrants Protected Under DACA

Biden administration DACA Expand Healthcare Access immigrants migrants Protected Under DACA

By Jackelyn Cornejo , Parent Herald May 04, 08:43 am

Photo: (Photo : Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images )

The Biden legislation, on Friday, declared a conclusion regulation proposed at broadening healthcare insurance for migrants who come to the US as kids and are shielded from expulsion under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.

Healthcare Coverage for DACA Recipients

Under this recent rule, persons listed in the DACA program settled during the Obama legislation will now be qualified to access healthcare insurance through the Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplaces for the first time.

President Biden acclaimed this regulation as an essential breakthrough, highlighting that while it presents advancement, only Congress can give DACA beneficiaries, often specified as Dreamers, and their families the guarantee of lasting residency and a pathway to citizenship.

"Dreamers are our loved ones, our nurses, teachers, and small business owners. And they deserve the promise of healthcare just like all of us," declared the president in an issued announcement.

The White House's decision comes amidst heated arguments over immigration in an election year, with Republicans, led by their assumptive presidential nominee, Donald Trump, trying to hold Biden's administration accountable for a growth in border crossings.

Although DACA enrollees are allowed to work and study in the US and contribute an estimated $6.2 billion in federal taxes yearly, they were formerly unqualified for government-subsidized health insurance programs due to their immigration status.

The rule amends this definition to guarantee that DACA beneficiaries are not prohibited from individual healthcare marketplaces based on their immigration status.

Federal Health Programs Criteria for DACA Beneficiaries To Meet

While many DACA beneficiaries attain health coverage through employers, roughly one-third of the 580,000 DACA beneficiaries were uninsured and unqualified for federal health programs until now.

The legislation estimates that the new guideline could cover up to 100,000 formerly uninsured DACA beneficiaries, with an anticipated federal cost of less than $1 billion.

However, the regulation change does not make DACA beneficiaries qualified for Medicaid, a health coverage program for low-income and incapacitated Americans.

The suggestion to broaden Medicaid eligibility to DACA beneficiaries has drawn critiques from Republicans, despite numerous left-leaning states broadening Medicaid to migrants or their kids, even those living in the US without permission.

Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra admired DACA beneficiaries as migrants who have worked hard to attain the American dream, citing that making them eligible for insurance will enhance their well-being and build up the nation's economy.

Uninsured persons are more prone to forfeit precautionary services, deferment medication when sick, and acquire medical credit.

As of 2022, an estimated 22 million people in the US lacked health coverage, a figure anticipated to increase after pandemic-related Medicaid cuts by states.

DACA beneficiaries can begin applying for insurance through HealthCare.gov and state-based marketplaces in November, with some possibility of qualifying for monetary aid.

However, even those with insurance will not be entirely shielded from healthcare costs, as federally regulated insurance marketplaces often have high cost-sharing requirements.

The ACA, also known as Obamacare, settled these exchanges, a law Biden supported to pass through Congress during his reign as vice president.

Despite repeated efforts by Republicans to abolish it during Trump's administration, the ACA has grown in recognition.

DACA, proposed by President Obama in 2012 after years of failed congressional efforts to improve the immigration system, has served roughly 800,000 migrants. Its fate, presently in legal limbo, is anticipated to be concluded by the Supreme Court.

Although a bipartisan border bill backed by Biden and other top Democrats did not include a pathway to citizenship for DACA beneficiaries, it faced hostility from Trump shortly after its opening in the Senate earlier this year.

The absence of a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers, once a top priority for Democratic lawmakers, was an important defeat for immigrant rights advocates, who persist in compelling Congress to execute lasting answers for DACA beneficiaries.