ACA for DACA recipients challenged in court by 15 Republican attorneys general

Attorneys general from 15 red-leaning states have filed a lawsuit challenging a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services rule that extends health insurance to children of undocumented immigrants under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. The lawsuit asks the court to postpone implementation of the rule, which is set to take place in November.

“Expanding eligibility for ACA coverage will impose additional administrative and resource burdens on states that have established their own ACA exchange by allowing additional persons to use such exchanges,” the lawsuit said.

CMS projects that the rule, which it released in May, would provide health insurance to more than 100,000 DACA recipients, a number that the lawsuit said could approach 200,000. States that filed the lawsuit argue that these recipients are not “legally present” under the Administrative Procedure Act and are not eligible for coverage under the Affordable Care Act.

“They shouldn’t receive taxpayer benefits when they arrive, and the Biden-Harris administration shouldn’t get a free pass to violate federal law,” Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach said.

Administration officials defended the policy at the time it was announced.

“The department of Health and Human Services 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. “Dreamers are our neighbors and friends; they are students, teachers, social workers, doctors and nurses. More importantly, they are fellow Americans. 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.”

Read more: Biden administration still has a ACA moral exemptions rule in the pipeline

DACA recipients are more than three times more likely to be uninsured than the overall U.S. population, according to the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law at Georgetown University on its lawsuit tracker page. “Federal efforts to mitigate such disparities can help DACA recipients obtain more needed medical services, avoid incurring medical debt and experience improved health outcomes,” it said.

The lawsuit was filed by attorneys general of Alabama, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee and Virginia.

Meanwhile, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is requiring the Texas Health and Human Services Commission to collect information on undocumented immigrants who use public hospitals for inpatient and emergency uses. The state is looking to receive reimbursement from the federal government for these expenses.