A federal court in North Dakota has blocked Affordable Care Act (ACA) coverage for immigrants that came into the U.S. illegally as children, also known as “Dreamers.”
U.S. District Judge Daniel M. Traynor on Monday granted Kansas, alongside 18 other states, a stay regarding a final rule from the Biden administration allowing some Dreamers access to the ACA marketplace, according to court documents. He also granted Kansas and the other states a preliminary injunction barring the federal government “enforcing the Final Rule against” them.
In May, the Biden administration announced the final rule, from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) that would let active recipients of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) enroll in a qualified or basic health plan under the ACA, as well as forms of financial assistance.
DACA recipients have been considered not “lawfully present” when it comes to health care law due to prior CMS rules, resulting in some recipients to fall out of coverage.