President Joe Biden has revealed his administration's intention to broaden healthcare coverage to young undocumented adults who have resided in the U.S. since childhood and are either studying or working under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.
Under Biden's scheme, these Dreamers will be able to enroll in health plans through the Affordable Care Act or Medicaid. This announcement is all about granting DACA recipients the same opportunities, as per Biden's video statement on Twitter.
The DACA program, established in 2012 by President Barack Obama as an executive order, granted qualified undocumented young adults the right to work and study in the U.S. without the fear of deportation. The White House states that the Department of Health and Human Services is planning to suggest a proposal that would extend the definition of "lawful presence" to cover DACA recipients concerning Medicaid and Affordable Care Act coverage.
The Biden administration anticipates finalizing the matter by the end of April, and it will be the first time DACA beneficiaries will be eligible for such healthcare programs. According to the White House, Dreamers can apply for coverage via the Health Insurance Marketplace, where they could qualify for financial aid based on their earnings, and through their state Medicaid agency.
In the U.S., over 600,000 DACA recipients live, the bulk of whom were born in Mexico and other Latin American nations. The largest immigrant youth-led organization in the country, United We Dream, hailed the announcement as a "significant victory."
As per Juliana Macedo do Nascimento, Deputy Director of Federal Advocacy at United We Dream, "Having good reliable health care is a human need, and this rule change will mean that more people will have the life-saving health care coverage they need to take care of themselves and their families."
The National Immigration Law Center's 2021 poll revealed that 34% of DACA recipients surveyed did not have any health insurance, while only 10% of the general population did not have any health coverage. United We Dream and lawmakers such as Senator Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nevada, have urged the Biden administration to adopt this rule.
Cortez Masto, the only Latina senator, stated, "I'm glad to see that the Biden administration is responding to our appeal to take this crucial step. DACA beneficiaries are a crucial part of our community."
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