First Focus on Children joined the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Center for Law and Social Policy, the Georgetown Center for Children and Families, Kids in Need of Defense (KIND), The Children’s Partnership, and The Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights in submitting this statement for the record during the House Committee on Oversight and Reform’s Subcommittee on Healthcare and Financial Services hearing on the expansion of Medicaid to DACA recipients.
Excerpt from the Comment:
By specifically excluding DACA recipients from those classified as “lawfully present” and “lawfully residing” under HHS’ definitions for deferred action in the PCIP program, Medicaid, CHIP, the Basic Health Program (BHP) and the marketplace, hundreds of thousands of youth and young adults have been largely left without access to affordable healthcare. This exclusion not only harms recipients themselves, but also their U.S. citizen children, whose overall health and insurance coverage are closely linked to that of their parents. The proposed rule’s provisions also make youths with approved petitions for Special Immigrant Juvenile (SIJ) status eligible for federal health programs, as well as remove the waiting period for kids applying for asylum and other humanitarian programs. Access to health care, including mental health care, is particularly important for children and youth who have experienced trauma. The rule is critical to addressing these oversights and improving the health and well-being of impacted child and youth populations.