President Joe Biden declared that immigrants who arrived in the U.S. illegally as children will now be eligible to apply for Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act’s health insurance exchanges. Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) is one of the Obama administration’s signature programs. It affects hundreds of thousands of people.
During a Twitter video, Biden stated, “They’re American in every way but on paper.” Dreamers deserve the support and opportunities they deserve.” Conservative leaders in states that have resisted Medicaid expansion and have criticized the Biden administration’s approach to illegal immigrants are likely to oppose the move.
The DACA program, initiated by President Obama in 2012, protects immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally as children from deportation and grants them work permits. However, these “Dreamers” have been ineligible for government-subsidized health insurance programs because they lack a “lawful presence” in the country. Biden’s Department of Health and Human Services intends to change this by the end of the month.
Currently, the DACA program is under legal threat, and the number of eligible individuals is decreasing. The number of people enrolled in DACA decreased to 580,000 last year from previous years. Court orders now prevent the U.S. Department of Homeland Security from processing new applications, and the program has faced legal challenges for years while Congress struggles to agree on comprehensive immigration reform.
The DACA program allows recipients to work legally and pay taxes, but many benefits are unavailable, such as access to federally funded health insurance. Over a third of DACA recipients are estimated to lack health care coverage, and about half of the roughly 20 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S. are uninsured.
Expanding health insurance access could benefit the entire healthcare system by increasing the number of people who can access routine checkups and reducing emergency visits. Jose Muñoz, national communications manager for the immigration advocacy organization United We Dream, described the announcement as a “major victory.”
The decision to expand health insurance access for DACA recipients has been met with relief from many individuals. Paloma Bouhid, a 26-year-old DACA recipient and small business owner in Orlando, Florida, called the announcement a “huge sigh of relief.” Before this decision, Bouhid had to pay $500 monthly for private insurance due to being self-employed, which was becoming increasingly unaffordable.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, many people enrolled in Medicaid, which provides healthcare coverage for the poorest Americans. As part of the Affordable Care Act, federal subsidies were also increased to reduce insurance premiums. According to Health and Human Services, only 8% of Americans were without health insurance last year. However, undocumented immigrants in the U.S. are far more likely to be uninsured.
Providing health insurance to more people could positively impact the entire healthcare system by enabling greater access to routine checkups and minimizing emergency visits.
Healthcare benefits for large groups of Americans living, working, attending school, and most importantly, making their homes here is terrible for everyone, says Michener, an associate professor of government and policy at Cornell University. As a result, preventive care becomes less accessible, increasing the cost of emergency care.
For many DACA recipients, affordable health insurance has been challenging to obtain. DACA recipient Jose Magaa-Salgado explained that he feared a medical bill might lead to bankruptcy and even premature death without health insurance.
Negotiations often stall due to debates over border security and concerns over expanding protections encouraging others to enter the U.S. without permission, despite bipartisan support for some form of protection. Immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally should have a pathway to citizenship, as President Biden, a Democrat, has repeatedly urged.
Other categories of immigrants, such as asylum seekers and individuals with temporary protected status, are already eligible to purchase insurance through the Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplaces, also known as “Obamacare.”
As the Biden administration takes this significant step towards expanding healthcare access for DACA recipients, there remains an ongoing need for comprehensive immigration reform. The decision to include DACA recipients in government-funded health insurance programs addresses a critical gap in health care coverage for these individuals, but it does not resolve the broader issues related to their legal status or access to other benefits.
Advocates for DACA recipients and other undocumented immigrants continue to call on Congress to pass legislation providing a path to citizenship, allowing these individuals to integrate into American society fully. As the debate around immigration reform continues, the healthcare expansion for DACA recipients is seen as an important, albeit incremental, step towards addressing some of the disparities and challenges this population faces.
It is important to note that expanding healthcare access for DACA recipients could face legal challenges from opponents, potentially placing the policy change in a precarious position. Additionally, the willingness of individual states to participate in and implement this expansion may vary, with some conservative-leaning states potentially resisting the move.
Nonetheless, the Biden administration’s decision to expand healthcare access for DACA recipients sends a strong message of support for this group of young immigrants. It highlights the administration’s commitment to addressing the needs of immigrants who have grown up in the U.S., consider it their home, and contribute to American society in various ways.
The long-term impact of this policy change will depend on the ability of the administration to defend and implement it, as well as the success of ongoing efforts to achieve broader immigration reform. As the debate continues, the lives of DACA recipients and millions of other undocumented immigrants will be shaped by the policies enacted and the support they receive from the government and their communities.
