Biden admin proposes expanding health coverage to DACA
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Undocumented immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children could enroll in Medicaid, the Children's Health Insurance Program and Affordable Care marketplaces under a proposal the Biden administration submitted on Thursday.
Why it matters: The plan could trigger a fight with conservatives who've resisted expanding Medicaid and are sharply at odds with the administration over immigration policy.
The big picture: The proposal applies to individuals in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which has been in place since 2012 despite litigation and Trump administration attempts cut the program.
- The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals last October largely upheld a district court ruling that the program was unlawful, but kept it for existing DACA recipients who arrived by 2007, pending lower court to review of a Biden administration's DACA final rule.
- The administration estimates about 34% of the nearly 580,000 recipients in DACA don’t have health coverage.
- Others say the percentage without coverage is nearly half.
What they're saying: "We're not done fighting for their pathway to citizenship, but we're getting them the opportunities they deserve in the meantime," President Biden said on a video announcing the initiative.
Yes, but: The proposal could get ensnared in a dispute over the Trump administration’s 2019 public charge rule, which threatened to deny visas to individuals who sought government benefits like food stamps or Medicaid.
- The Biden administration stopped enforcing it in March 2021, but misinformation and deportation fears kept some non-citizens from seeking emergency aid they were entitled to during the pandemic.
- This included COVID-19 tests and treatment and federal nutrition programs.
- Earlier this year, Texas filed a lawsuit challenging the reversal of public charge, signaling yet another legal battle ahead.
Catch up quick: The pandemic's impact on immigrants — especially those deemed essential workers — accelerated a push among states to extend Medicaid and CHIP benefits for prenatal care and postpartum coverage regardless of immigration status.
- States have had the option to do this since 2002, but many deferred because of cost and opposition to expanding safety net programs, especially to undocumented people.
- Some, like New York, have had to set up special dedicated state funds to cover the cost since federal money doesn’t pay for health benefits for those without legal status.
- In Congress, Democrats like Sens. Cory Booker (N.J.) and Elizabeth Warren (Mass.) attempted to move legislation akin to what Biden is proposing.
By the numbers: As of Jan., 11 states plus the District of Columbia allow non-citizen children to enroll in Medicaid or CHIP, according to a tracker from the Kaiser Family Foundation.
- Colorado plans to do so by 2025.
- Others, like California and Illinois, have expanded state-funded coverage to some undocumented adults with low incomes.
