White House Expands Health Care Coverage to DACA Recipients

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration on Friday expanded access to Affordable Care Act coverage to Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipients.

Starting in November, DACA recipients — individuals who were brought into the U.S. illegally as children by a parent or other adult, known as “Dreamers” — will be able to apply for health care coverage through both HealthCare.gov and state-based marketplaces and may qualify for financial assistance to help pay for it.

According to a fact sheet distributed by the White House, four out of five consumers have found a plan for less than $10 a month under the Affordable Care Act, with millions of Americans saving an average of about $800 a year on their premiums.

The DACA program was created by then-President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden in 2012 to shield immigrants brought into the U.S. as children from deportation and to allow them to work legally in the United States.

However, because they still lacked permanent legal status, beneficiaries of the DACA program were blocked from taking advantage of some federal programs, including those providing health care coverage.

While President Biden continues to call on Congress to provide a pathway to citizenship for “Dreamers,” his action today amends the definition of “lawfully present” to include DACA recipients so they can qualify for marketplace subsidies.

The move will also allow DACA recipients in at least two states — Minnesota and New York — to enroll in their state’s basic health plan if they can’t find a health care plan they can afford, but make too much to qualify for Medicaid. 

“Nearly 12 years ago, President Obama and I announced the DACA program to allow our young people to live and work in the only country they’ve called home,” Biden said Friday in a statement distributed by the White House.

“Since then, DACA has provided more than 800,000 … with the ability to work lawfully, pursue an education, and contribute their immense talents to make our communities better and stronger,” Biden said.

“I’m proud of the contributions of “Dreamers” to our country and committed to providing … the support they need to succeed. That’s why I’ve previously directed the Department of Homeland Security to take all appropriate actions to “preserve and fortify” DACA. And that’s why today we are taking this historic step to ensure that DACA recipients have the same access to health care through the Affordable Care Act as their neighbors,” the president said.

During a conference call with reporters earlier this week, federal officials estimated that about 100,000 people enrolled in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program will sign up for subsidized plans through the health insurance marketplace over the next year.

“I applaud President Biden for this highly impactful policy change that lives up to the greatest ideals of America and will improve the lives of so many,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said in a statement. 

“Since its beginning, DACA has endured because the American people understand that DACA recipients are Americans in every sense of the word. Over the last 12 years, Democrats have fought to protect “Dreamers” and secure their access to affordable health care in the only country they call home,” Schumer added.

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