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President Joe Biden announced Thursday that hundreds of thousands of immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally as children will be able to apply for Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act’s health insurance exchanges. The action will allow participants in the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA, to access government-funded health insurance programs. “They’re American in every way except for on paper,” Biden said in a video released on his Twitter page. “We need to give Dreamers the opportunities and support they deserve.” (Miller, Seitz and Balsamo, 4/14)

DACA beneficiaries are not currently eligible for those benefits because their immigration status does not meet the current definition of “lawful presence” required to enroll in Medicaid and the ObamaCare exchanges. Under the administration’s plan, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is preparing a new rule to amend that definition by the end of the month. (Bernal, 4/13)

The proposal angered Republicans, who oppose both the DACA program—which they consider an illegal use of the government’s immigration authority—as well as expanding most federal health benefits, particularly the Affordable Care Act. For years, Republicans campaigned on repealing the Obama-era health law before failing to overturn it in 2017. ... It isn’t clear how broad of an impact the administration’s proposal will have if completed. Because the criteria for the program haven’t been updated since 2012, most DACA recipients are now in their 20s and 30s, and most receive healthcare through their jobs or through universities. Still, 34% of the nearly 600,000 young immigrants enrolled in the program are currently uninsured, according to an HHS estimate. (Hackman, 4/13)

The Department of Justice (DOJ) wants a federal judge to ensure that preventive care coverage requirements in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) remain available while it appeals a ruling striking the provisions down. The DOJ filed on Wednesday a request with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas for a partial stay of an earlier judgment from Judge Reed O’Connor that strips the preventive care coverage requirements for insurers. (King, 4/13)

Democrats in key House and Senate health committees have requested information from a dozen major health insurance companies and trade groups on how they plan to respond to the ruling from Texas that struck down the preventive services provision in the Affordable Care Act. The lawmakers sent out letters to major insurance providers including Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna, Humana and UnitedHealth Group. The letters asked whether consumers would experience interruptions in their coverage in light of the ruling issued by U.S District Judge Reed O’Connor last month. (Choi, 4/13)

�������ýҕ�l Health News: A Smart Move On Tax Day: Get Health Insurance Information Using Your State’s Tax Forms

A growing number of states — including Colorado, Massachusetts, and Massachusetts — are using tax forms to point people toward the lower-cost coverage available through state insurance marketplaces; by next year, it will be at least 10, including California, Maine, and New Jersey. Illinois is working on a program as well. (Boden, 4/14)