White House Announces DREAMers Won't Receive Obamacare

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You can stay – but the federal government isn’t going to give you health insurance. That’s the basic message President Obama’s administration is sending to illegal immigrants who are getting a reprieve from deportation.
The New York Times reports, “The White House has ruled that young immigrants who will be allowed to stay in the United States as part of a new federal policy will not be eligible for health insurance coverage under President Obama’s health care overhaul.”
The article also states, “Immigrants granted such relief would ordinarily meet the definition of “lawfully present” residents, making them eligible for government subsidies to buy private insurance, a central part of the new health care law. But the administration issued a rule in late August that specifically excluded the young immigrants from the definition of ‘lawfully present.’
There could be a political reason behind the move. As the article reports, “The move might help Mr. Obama avoid a heated political debate over whether the health law is benefiting illegal immigrants. The possibility of such benefits has drawn criticism from many Republicans.”
The article also supposes that there might be a fiscal reason behind the policy. It quotes Congressional Budget Office figures that show Federal subsidies for insurance under the new health care law are expected to average $5,300 a year for each person subsidized in 2014, and the cost is expected to rise to $7,500 a person in 2022.
 
 
 


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