Sign-on Letter Asking President Biden to Finalize Rule Expanding Health Coverage for DACA Recipients

View a PDF of the letter here.

Dear President Biden,

As organizations fighting for justice, equity, child well-being, and human rights for millions across the United States, we write to urge you to immediately direct your administration to finalize the proposed rule to expand health coverage for DACA recipients, crime victims, and immigrant children. While we are grateful that your administration proposed the rule, we are extremely concerned that any further delays will prevent families from accessing the quality, affordable healthcare they deserve.

In April of 2023, the Department of Health and Human Services proposed a new regulation to reduce health coverage enrollment barriers for certain groups. In particular, the notice of proposed rulemaking would make DACA recipients eligible for coverage under the Affordable Care Act, as well as Medicaid and CHIP in select circumstances. It would also clarify and strengthen coverage for other populations, including those approved for Special Immigrant Juvenile (SIJ) Status and children applying for humanitarian relief.

If this rule isn’t immediately finalized, individuals in need may not be able to fully benefit from the upcoming 2024 Affordable Care Act open enrollment period, which starts on November 1st. In the proposed rule, HHS wisely selected this same day for the proposed implementation. Doing so allows newly eligible individuals to benefit from the extensive outreach and enrollment resources dedicated to open enrollment. Particularly because immigrants are hard to reach populations, missing this timing would mean that far fewer people will get covered. With 16 days till open enrollment, we do not want to run out of time.

DACA recipients, despite working heavily as essential workers and in the health care sector, are disproportionately uninsured, face higher risks of medical debt, and cannot access the care they need. SIJ-approved youth are often forced to wait years before adjusting status. Due to confusion in implementing the current rule, access to health coverage has been delayed for some of these youth, putting their health and well-being at risk. The proposed rule helpfully clarifies that these individuals are lawfully present in the US and therefore potentially eligible for coverage. Immigrants and their children face significant health disparities, such as worse health outcomes. With so many immigrants making up communities of color, these trends all contribute to racial health disparities in the United States. In proposing this rule, your administration took an important step in addressing these inequities. Now we call on you to finalize it immediately.

Sincerely,

Center for Law and Social Policy
Community Catalyst
National Immigration Law Center
Pre-Health Dreamers
Young Invincibles
United We Dream Network
African Communities Together
AHRI Center
AIDS Alliance for Women, Infants, Children, Youth & Families
Alianza Americas
AltaMed Health Services
American Academy of Pediatrics
American Federation of Teachers
American Public Health Association
Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum (APIAHF)
Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund
Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC
Asian Pacific Institute on Gender-Based Violence
Asian Resources, Inc.
Association of Asian Pacific Community Health Organizations (AAPCHO)
Association of Farmworker Opportunity Programs (AFOP)
Autistic Self Advocacy Network
Autistic Women & Nonbinary Network
Ayuda
Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law
Building One Community
California Immigrant Policy Center
Care in Action
Carol Carvajal
CASA
Center for Asian Americans in Action
Centro Romero
CHILDREN AT RISK
Children’s Defense Fund
Cleveland Jobs with Justice
Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA)
Coalition on Human Needs
Colorado Children’s Campaign
Colorado Consumer Health Initiative
Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd, U.S. Provinces
Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (DREDF)
East Bay Sanctuary Covenant
El Centro Inc
End SIJS Backlog Coalition
Erie Family Health Centers
Every Texan
Families USA
Family Voices
Farmworker Justice
First Focus on Children
Florida Health Justice Project
Franciscan Action Network
Futures Without Violence
Georgetown University Center for Children and Families
GLMA: Health Professionals Advancing LGBTQ+ Equality
GRACE/End Child Poverty California
Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees
Guttmacher Institute
Hartford Deportation Defense
Health Equity Solutions
Heather Wise Attorney at Law
Hispanic Federation
Housing Works Inc.
Human Rights Campaign
Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights
Immigrants Rising
Immigration Hub
InReach
Justice Action Center
Justice in Aging
Kentucky Equal Justice Center
Kids in Need of Defense (KIND)
labor Council for Latin American Advancement
Language Services Hawaii, LLC
Latino Commission on AIDS
Latino Community Fund INC (LCF Georgia)
League of Women Voters of the United States
Legal Action Center
Loyola Immigration Justice Clinic
Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service
Medicare Rights Center
Metro New York Health Care for All
MomsRising/MamásConPoder
Muscular Dystrophy Association
NAKASEC (National Korean American Service and Education Consortium)
National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd
National Asian Pacific American Families Against Substance Abuse
National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum
National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities
National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners
National Association of Social Workers
National Center for Parent Leadership, Advocacy, and Community Empowerment (National PLACE)
National Center for Transgender Equality
National Coalition for Latinxs with Disabilities
National Community Action Partnership
National Council of Jewish Women
National Council on Independent Living
National Disability Rights Network (NDRN)
National Domestic Workers Alliance
National Education Association
National Employment Law Project
National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association
National Health Law Program
National Homelessness Law Center
National Immigrant Justice Center
National Immigration Project (NIPNLG)
National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice
National League for Nursing
National LGBTQ Task Force Action Fund
National Network for Arab American Communities
National Partnership for New Americans (NPNA)
National Partnership for Women & Families
National Skills Coalition
National Women’s Law Center
Nebraska Appleseed
NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice
New York Immigration Coalition
North Carolina Justice Center
Northwest Health Law Advocates (NoHLA)
Nourish California
Oklahoma Policy Institute
Oregon Food Bank
Pennsylvania Immigration and Citizenship Coalition
People Power United
Physicians for Reproductive Health
Planned Parenthood Federation of America
Prevention Institute
Public Advocacy for Kids (PAK)
Refugees Forward
Reproductive Health Impact: The Collaborative for Equity and Justice
Service Employees International Union
Shriver Center on Poverty Law
SIECUS: Sex Ed for Social Change
Social Workers for Immigration Justice and Human Rights
Sojourners-SojoAction
Sonoma Immigrant Services
South Carolina Appleseed Legal Justice Center
Southeast Asia Resource Action Center (SEARAC)
SPAN Parent Advocacy Network
Spanish Community Center
Strycker’s Bay Neighborhood Council
Student Clinic for Immigrant Justice
Tennessee Health Care Campaign
The AIDS Institute
The Arc of the United States
The Children’s Partnership
The Coelho Center for Disability Law, Policy and Innovation
The Education Trust
The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights
The Pocket Report
The Raben Group
The Workers Circle
Third Way
TODEC Legal Center
UndocuBlack
UnidosUS
Unitarian Universalists for Social Justice
United States of Care
University of California Immigrant Legal Services Center
Virginia Poverty Law Center
Voices For Utah Children
Welcoming America
Wind of the Spirit Immigrant Resource Center
Wings Program
Wisconsin Faith Voices for Justice
Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights
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