15 State AGs Sue Biden Administration Over ObamaCare Coverage for ‘Dreamers’

A coalition of 15 state attorneys general is suing the Biden administration over its plan to expand Affordable Care Act (ACA) health coverage for immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally as children.

The states, led by Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach (R), want to block the administration’s plan from taking effect on November 1.

Under the rule, active Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) beneficiaries will be eligible to enroll in a taxpayer-subsidized health plan under the ACA. The administration estimated that the policy would lead to 100,000 newly eligible DACA recipients enrolling in a marketplace plan or basic health program.

Kobach was joined by attorneys general from Alabama, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee and Virginia. The lawsuit was filed in North Dakota federal court.

“Illegal aliens should not get a free pass to enter our country. They should not receive taxpayer benefits when they arrive, and the Biden-Harris administration should not be given a free pass to violate federal law. legal action to prevent this illegal regulation from taking effect,” Kobach said in a statement.

DACA recipients had already been excluded from ObamaCare benefits, although other foreign nationals in deferred action programs were not.

Under previous Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) rules, DACA recipients were not “lawfully present” under the health care law. This has caused many DACA recipients, especially those without employer-provided insurance or the means to self-fund health insurance, to drop out of coverage.

The lawsuit argues that the administration directly contradicted the “legally present” language in the law.

The lawsuit also claims the new policy violates a 1996 Social Security reform law that limits eligibility for federal public benefits to certain “qualified aliens.” DACA recipients were not included in this definition.

The suit says being eligible for ACA coverage will likely create an incentive for undocumented immigrants to remain in the U.S. rather than return to their home countries, creating a financial burden on public and state school systems.

The lawsuit urged the court to delay the rule’s effective date until the case is concluded. It also sought to nullify the rule as “both contrary to law and irrational, arbitrary and capricious.”

When the final rule was announced in May, administration health officials said that allowing “Dreamers” — a term based on proposals never passed in Congress called the DREAM Act — to enroll in ObamaCare plans would help expand affordable health coverage and reduce the number of uninsured people. people.

“’Dreamers’ like DACA recipients are currently three times more likely to be uninsured than the general U.S. population, and individuals without health insurance — I think we all know this — are less likely to receive health screenings preventive or routine”, Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said.

“They delay needed medical care and incur higher costs and deaths when they finally seek care. Therefore, making ‘Dreamers’ eligible to enroll in coverage will improve their health and well-being and strengthen the health and well-being of our nation and our economy.”

This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story