Biden Expands Access to Health Coverage for DACA Recipients

WASHINGTON—The Biden administration is set to announce on Friday a final rule that will expand access to affordable healthcare coverage for recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will publish the final rule, which will remove the prohibition on DACA recipients’ eligibility for Affordable Care Act (ACA) coverage for the first time.

“HHS is committed to making health coverage accessible for DACA recipients—Dreamers—who have worked hard to live the American Dream,” HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said in a statement.

“More than one-third of DACA recipients currently do not have health insurance, so making them eligible to enroll in coverage will improve their health and wellbeing, and help the overall economy,” he added.

The DACA program was created by former President Barack Obama by executive order in 2012 after Congress repeatedly failed to pass the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act. The program shields from deportation about 800,000 immigrants who arrived in the United States as children illegally.

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