Biden and DACA: White House to expand Medicaid, ACA coverage to 'Dreamers'

The federal government will provide government health insurance to eligible undocumented immigrants brought to the country as children under a new initiative President Joe Biden's administration announced Thursday.

The plan will allow people eligible for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program to use Medicaid, a state-federal program designed for low-income and disabled Americans and get Healthcare.gov marketplace coverage through the Affordable Care Act.

Better known as DACA, the decade-old initiative allows people who were brought into the country illegally as children to avoid deportation. They are often called "Dreamers" based on never-passed proposals in Congress called the DREAM Act. About 580,000 people are eligible for DACA, according to the Department of Health and Human Services, and 34% of those do not have health insurance coverage.

"It's past time for Congress to give Dreamers a pathway to citizenship," Biden said in a video statement on his Twitter account. He added, "We need to give Dreamers the opportunities and support they deserve."

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Biden served as vice president when the Affordable Care Act passed expanding health coverage nationwide, and when former President Barack Obama implemented the DACA program through an executive order. His administration has been defending the program in court.

The White House has directed the Department of Health and Human Services, "to propose a new rule on 'lawful presence' so that DACA recipients can receive coverage," it announced in a statement.

The administration expects the rule to be finalized by the end of the month.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Biden to expand Medicaid, ACA coverage to DACA recipients