Young Invincibles: Biden-Harris Administration Finalizes Long-Awaited Rule Granting DACA Recipients Access to ACA Marketplace Coverage

WASHINGTON, May 4 -- The Young Invincibles, an advocacy organization, issued the following news release on May 3, 2024:

Today, the Biden-Harris Administration finalized a regulation making Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program recipients eligible for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act. This regulation, finalized more than a year after its initial announcement by the Biden-Harris Administration, marks a significant milestone in the fight for equitable access to health care.

This landmark victory is critical to providing necessary health coverage to DACA recipients previously ineligible for federally-subsidized health insurance programs, as well as improving health care access for other immigrant groups. Extending this coverage follows through on President Biden's commitments to advance health equity and expands eligibility for health coverage to 100,000 DACA recipients.

With mental and physical well being more important than ever, Young Invincibles, along with our community of Navigators and young advocates, applauds the Biden administration for taking this crucial action. Starting this November, DACA recipients not already covered by their employer will have the opportunity to enroll in health insurance through www.healthcare.gov or their state equivalent.

In response, Kristin McGuire, Executive Director of Young Invincibles said:

"Today is a great day to expand access to health care. This finalized rule is an overdue and necessary step the administration needed to take to finally expand access to ACA coverage for DACA recipients.

We know that when even one person in a family lacks access to care, it negatively affects the financial, physical, and mental well-being of everyone; and for too long, young DACA recipients, who are often first-generation, have carried the financial burden and fear of medical debt. This new rule is life-changing and will allow for DACA recipients, for the first time, to shop and enroll in coverage that meet basic standards of coverage for routine check-ups, vaccinations, and mental health services.

It's crucial for the administration to continue leveraging its authority to address the needs of DACA recipients and immigrants lacking permanent status on a broader scale. As they have gone so many years being excluded from the system, we hope the administration will proceed with a robust outreach and enrollment campaign. Access to affordable health care is a fundamental human right, at Young Invincibles we are ready to support a transition to ACA coverage for this community."

In response, Keyri Canales-Garay, DACA recipient and Navigator and Outreach Coordinator at Young Invincibles said:

"As a DACA recipient myself, I couldn't be happier for us! For years, we may have been forced to be uninsured or to stay in an unhealthy working environment due to only being able to access health insurance through an employer. This rule is not only going to help us improve or maintain our physical health, but our mental health as well. As a college student, many of us will now be able to focus on our higher education since we will not have to be employed full time to have access to health insurance. As a Navigator in Northern Virginia, I can't wait to help even more eligible immigrants access health care."

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Original text here: https://younginvincibles.org/13753-2/