US President Joe Biden has announced his plan to expand health care coverage for Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals or DACA program immigrants before the end of April. It should reverse Trump-era policies, wherein undocumented immigrants had limited access to health care in the country.
Once implemented, the new policy will extend a helping hand to thousands of immigrants in the US who were illegally brought to the country when they were still young.
Health Care Expansion for DACA Immigrants
As per a report by ABC News, the Biden administration is looking to pass a new policy that should give DACA recipients, better known as "Dreamers, better access to health care. The White House disclosed that they plan to expand coverage for these immigrants before the month ends.
The President of the United States (POTUS), Biden, reminds everyone in a recorded video announcing the proposal that "[they are] American in every way except for on paper, according to PBS. As such, he believes that "we need to give Dreamers the opportunities and support they deserve.
Thousands of immigrants are currently under the Obama-era DACA program. Thus, if the new measure takes place as Biden plans, thousands of Dreamers are expected to benefit from it, giving them access to health insurance. The New York Times pointed out that there are roughly 600,000 recipients of the program in the US. They are protected from deportation as they were brought to the country when they were still young.
The video, which was posted on the Twitter account POTUS, shows Biden noting that "health care should be a right, not a privilege, and my administration's worked hard to expand health care." The President boasted that "more Americans have health insurance than ever" these days.
Medicaid, Affordable Care Act Expansion
Biden announced that his administration plans to cover DACA immigrants with health insurance, allowing Dreamers to access it through Affordable Care Act marketplaces or Medicaid. The White House says that the proposal essentially enhances the "lawful presence" definition of DACA recipients.
Even before the implementation, some recipients already have coverage thanks to military service, their employer, and more. However, ABC News notes that a third of them have yet to receive such insurance, according to Xavier Becerra, the Health and Human Services Secretary. Given that, some DACA immigrants have been left behind.
But for Republican Senator Tom Cotton, the proposal of the Biden administration might raise a problem. His recent Twitter post says, "Rewarding illegal immigration will bring more illegal immigration." The senator adds that the health care expansion to Dreamers "is an insult to American citizenship."
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