Biden adminstration rule will give DACA recipients access to federal health insurance for the first time
The Biden administration is expanding health care access for “dreamers,” those who are covered under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, also known as DACA.
The Department of Health and Human Services has finalized rules, first announced a year ago, which will allow DACA recipients to participate in the Obamacare exchanges, something they weren’t able to do before.
Growing up in Texas, Josue Rodriguez says health insurance was always something of a luxury.
“It was sort of like a joke that if you are not full on dying, then we would have a home remedy to take care of your health,” he said.
Rodriguez came to the states with his family from Mexico when he was eight years old. His DACA status allows him to live and work here, and he currently has insurance through his job.
However, he said, “I’ve always been paying attention to the health insurance component of the jobs that I’ve been seeking, because I know that private insurance is so expensive and DACA recipients were not able to access the marketplace.”
But now, starting in November first with open enrollment, they can.
There are about 600,000 DACA recipients living in the U.S. right now, says Stephen Yale-Loehr, a professor of immigration law practice at Cornell.
And the new rule estimates that about 100,000 of them are currently uninsured and can qualify for this kind of health insurance through the Affordable Care Act because of the relatively low incomes they are earning.
The move is being celebrated by groups like Young Invincibles, a youth advocacy organization that was among those pushing the Biden administration to make the change.
Keyri Canales-Garay is an outreach coordinator with the group, and a DACA recipient herself.
While she’s happy about the expansion, “Medicaid and CHIP were left out so we would only be able to apply for health insurance through the Marketplace,” she said.
CHIP is the Children’s Health Insurance Program; the Biden administration is still evaluating whether to expand access to that and Medicaid for DACA recipients.
“It’s a step,” said Canales-Garay. “I wish we’d have a little more help, but you know, something is better than nothing.”
Canales-Garay says having the ability to fall back on the ACA exchange means DACA recipients won’t be trapped in bad jobs for fear of losing access to health insurance.
Which, she says, can improve someone’s mental health as well.