Biden Seeks to Open Health-Care Subsidies to DACA Migrants

President Joe Biden will seek to open access to Medicaid and subsidized health insurance to immigrants who are part of the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, in a bid to bolster the beleaguered measure for those brought to the US illegally as children.

Under a new proposed rule from the Department of Health and Human Services, those participating in the program would be deemed to have a “lawful presence” in the US. As a result, the roughly 600,000 DACA recipients could qualify for free health insurance if their income level is low enough, or subsidized insurance on Obamacare exchanges if they don’t receive insurance from their employer.

The move is a significant shift from the initial implementation of DACA — which allowed certain undocumented immigrants to avoid deportation and receive work permits — when aides pitched it as specifically limiting access to government benefits.

A significant number of DACA recipients may qualify for subsidized insurance under the expansion. While 85% of those with active DACA status are in the workforce, the median income was just $26,000 per year according to 2022 data collected by FWD.us, an immigration activism organization. More than a quarter of recipients live in California, which offers expanded Medicaid eligibility.

The administration hopes to finalize the rule by the end of the month, the White House said in a fact sheet. The expansion was first reported by the Associated Press.

The White House has hoped to expand the DACA program, but that effort has been put on hold by federal courts, which have prohibited the administration from processing new applications. Biden has also called on Congress to provide those brought to the country illegally as children a pathway to citizenship.

To contact the reporter on this story:
Justin Sink in Washington at jsink1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Mario Parker at mparker22@bloomberg.net

Magan Crane, Kathleen Hunter

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