Starting in November, the more than 7,000 people living in Maryland under DACA status will be able to buy insurance plans from the state’s insurance marketplace.
DACA recipients operate in legal limbo.
They are people who were brought to the United States as children and have received a high school degree or served in the military. While they are allowed to stay in the U.S. legally, they aren’t technically citizens.
That made it hard for them to get health insurance through the Affordable Care Act.
However, this year, the Biden Administration is expanding who can get those plans to the seven thousand DACA recipients in Maryland and nearly 600,000 in the nation.
“At the end of the day, this is a long-earned victory for this community,” said George Escobar chief of programs and services at CASA Maryland, an immigrant rights group. “It's a community that's constantly threatened, constantly challenged.”
The rule allows DACA recipients to get coverage from the marketplaces, apply for subsidies and to sign up for emergency Medicaid.
The DACA rule is being challenged by a handful of states in the United States District Court of North Dakota, Western Division.
Those states claim that DACA recipients are considered “aliens” under the law and therefore are not eligible for insurance benefits.
Maryland’s health insurance open season starts on Nov. 1.
The state has already opened its exchange up for people to browse plans and prices in preparation for the 90-day period where people can sign up for insurance or change their plan.
Open enrollment runs from Nov. 1 to Jan. 15, 2025 for coverage next year.
Plans for DACA recipients can start as soon as Dec. 1.
The marketplace offers health plans to Marylanders who do not get plans through their employers or through Medicaid or Medicare.
Maryland Health Connection, Maryland’s insurance marketplace, is also continuing its pilot program for young adults aged 18 to 37.
“On average, we're seeing about a $38 a month addition to help folks afford their premium coverage,” said Michele Eberle, executive director of the Maryland Health Benefit Exchange.
Experts state the more people with health coverage can keep premium costs down because there are more people paying into the system.