When open enrollment for the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, starts this week, a group that had previously been barred from signing up will be eligible for the first time: the “Dreamers.” That’s the name given to children of undocumented immigrants whose parents brought them to the United States without paperwork, who have since qualified for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. Under a Biden administration rule that has become contentious in some states, DACA recipients will be able to enroll in — and, if their income qualifies, receive premium subsidies for — Obamacare coverage.
The government estimates that about 100,000 previously uninsured people out of the half-million DACA recipients might sign up starting Nov. 1, which is the sign-up season start date in all states except Idaho . Yet the fate of the rule remains uncertain.
It is being challenged in federal court by Kansas and 18 other states, including several in the South and Midwest, as well as Montana, New Hampshire, and North Dakota. Separately, 19 states and the District of Columbia filed a brief in support of the Biden administration rule. Led by New Jersey, those states include many on the East and West coasts, including California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, and Washington.
The rule, finalized in May, clarifies that those who qualify for DACA will be considered “lawfully present” for the purposes of enrolling in plans under the ACA, which are open to America.
