Minors who arrive in the U.S. irregularly (Dreamers) will be able to apply for Medicaid and the health insurance included under the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), President Joe Biden announced. This measure will affect some 580,000 people and the annual cost could exceed $2.8 billion according to several studies, so resistance is expected from many states.
Today, my Administration is announcing our plan to expand health coverage for Dreamers, the thousands of young people brought to the U.S. as kids.
We’re not done fighting for their pathway to citizenship, but we're getting them the opportunities they deserve in the meantime. pic.twitter.com/4eqNMMNxtt
— President Biden (@POTUS) April 13, 2023
Give Dreamers "the opportunities they deserve"
In a video uploaded to his Twitter account, Biden claims that participants in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, "are Americans in every way except on paper. It's past time to give Dreamers a pathway to citizenship." The president insisted that "health care should be a right, not a privilege." In addition, Biden announced that he will continue his fight to ensure that DACA participants can obtain citizenship.
The administration will expand the definition of who is eligible for these two healthcare coverages. To that end, it will make a regulatory change proposed by the Department of Health and Human Services on Thursday that revolves around who has "lawful presence" in the country, a prerequisite for Medicaid eligibility. The amendment expands that umbrella to include DACA participants.
Today’s announcement of the proposed rule would improve health outcomes for DACA recipients and would in turn improve the economic and productive capacity of America.
It would also give these Dreamers and their families the peace of mind that comes with having access to care. https://t.co/57mbAoBQvX
— Secretary Xavier Becerra (@SecBecerra) April 13, 2023
A cost of $4,600 per DACA recipient per year
According to Citizenship and Immigration Services data, some 580,000 people were enrolled in DACA at the end of last year. This number is decreasing as several court rulings have prevented the Department of Homeland Security from processing new applications. In the midst of the immigration policy fight in Congress, and while the country is experiencing a crisis at the southern border due to the avalanche of illegal immigrants trying to reach the country, the DACA program has been in the spotlight for years.
When Democratic candidates for the White House in 2020 Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren supported the initiative to extend Medicaid and Obamacare to illegal immigrants, researchers at the Center for Immigration Studies estimated that the cost of this measure would cost taxpayers about $4,600 per illegal immigrant per year. At this time, its application to DACA recipients would amount to about $2.8 billion annually.
