Is Obamacare being expanded? Biden seeks to provide cover for immigrants

Health has always been an important issue for every American, but having health insurance is especially difficult for immigrants in the United States. Lack of health coverage is a problem that encompasses all U.S. citizens and residents, but health insurance for undocumented immigrants seems to be an impossibility.

However, Biden has announced plans to use administrative action to make DACA recipients eligible for Medicaid and Obamacare. Therefore, in Jaskot Law we tell you everything you need to know about the benefits of Obamacare and how you could access health insurance for undocumented immigrants if Biden’s measure materializes at the end of the month.

At Jaskot Law we do not offer any type of health insurance for undocumented immigrants, but we can help you regularize your immigration status so that you can access the medical coverage you and your family need. Contact us at +1 (410) 235-6868 or jared@jaskot.law.

What is Obamacare?

Obamacare is the name by which the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is known. Signed in March 2010 and promoted by then U.S. President Barack Obama, Obamacare is a Health Care Reform that sought to make health insurance plans more accessible to the low and middle-income population.

Obamacare provides health care subsidies to individuals and families based on age, household size and income. The aim is to make insurance policies that cover numerous treatments and health situations that were not previously covered more accessible, on the one hand, and to ensure that people with pre-existing conditions and pregnant women are not rejected by insurers, on the other.

Why were DACA recipients ineligible for Obamacare?

Recall that DACA is the administrative amnesty Obama imposed after Congress refused to pass the Dream Act. Its beneficiaries are the hundreds of thousands of people who came to the United States illegally or claim to have arrived in the country as minors. However, the Obama administration simply decided to stop enforcing immigration laws against this category of immigrants, but their beneficiaries were not formally granted legal status.

Obamacare limits eligibility to those who are citizens or those who are “lawfully present” in the country. Therefore, since DACA recipients lack legal status, they cannot apply for Obamacare benefits.

Now, Biden could change this through a brief rule modifying the definition of ‘lawful presence’ for purposes of Medicaid and Affordable Care Act coverage to include DACA recipients in Obamacare benefits and, at least technically, grant them the first undocumented health insurance.

What are the Benefits of Obamacare?

While there are many benefits of Obamacare, here are some of the main benefits.

Increased access to health care for all

One of the major benefits of Obamacare is that it allowed millions of people to access health coverage through the health insurance and Medicaid marketplaces, which increased access to health care for the previously uninsured.

Greater protection for health insurance consumers

Another benefit of Obamacare is that it expanded protections for health care consumers, which now prohibit turning someone away because of a pre-existing condition, the elimination of limits on health care benefits, and the regulation of premiums.

Reduction of long-term health care costs

This is one of the benefits of Obamacare that most impacted the lives of users, as it implemented measures to reduce health care costs, such as incentives for coordinated care and the implementation of more efficient medical technologies.

Preventive care and management of chronic diseases

One of the most important Obamacare benefits, the program provides for preventive care to prevent and/or detect diseases early.

As a general rule, this type of care is free of co-payments and, thanks to the ACA, 50 procedures defined by the U .S. Preventive Services Task Force are covered, among them:

• Vaccines.
• Diagnostic tests for diseases.
• Contraceptive counseling.
• Visits to healthy women.

Increased health care options for women

Another benefit of Obamacare is that it requires health insurance plans to cover women’s health services, such as preventive screenings, contraception and maternity services.

Medicaid Expansion

One of the great benefits of Obamacare is that states can choose to expand Medicaid to cover more low-income people, which has allowed millions of users to obtain health coverage.

There are no limits on annual or lifetime health care benefits.

This is one of the most important benefits of Obamacare, as insurance companies can no longer impose limits on health care benefits, allowing people to get the care they need without worrying about reaching a maximum limit.

Extension of the age for health insurance coverage from parents to children up to 26 years of age

Another major benefit of Obamacare is that it requires health insurance plans to allow young people to stay on their parents’ coverage until age 26, giving them more time to obtain independent coverage.

Ban on age-based health insurance restrictions

One of the great benefits of Obamacare for senior citizens is that it prohibits insurance companies from basing health insurance premiums on a person’s age, helping seniors obtain more affordable coverage.

Conclusion

President Biden has announced plans to extend health coverage to illegal immigrants in the United States. Through administrative action, DACA recipients could become eligible for Medicaid and Obamacare.

The benefits of Obamacare include increased access to health care, greater protections for health insurance consumers, reduced long-term costs, preventive care and chronic disease management, and increased health care options for women.

If Biden’s measure materializes by the end of the month, illegal immigrants could have access for the first time to what we could call, at least technically, health insurance for the undocumented.

We hope that this measure will really help an important part of the migrant population to access the medical coverage that they undoubtedly urgently need.

At Jaskot Law we do not offer any kind of health insurance, but we can help you regulate your immigration status so that you can access the medical coverage you and your family need. Contact us today at +1 (410) 235-6868 or jared@jaskot.law.

Sources

National Review.

CuidadoDeSalud.gov.

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