{"id":2239753,"date":"2024-05-08T03:50:02","date_gmt":"2024-05-08T07:50:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-hhs-redefines-lawfully-present-to-give-free-health-care-to-illegal-immigrants\/"},"modified":"2024-05-08T03:56:22","modified_gmt":"2024-05-08T07:56:22","slug":"biden-hhs-redefines-lawfully-present-to-give-free-health-care-to-illegal-immigrants","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-hhs-redefines-lawfully-present-to-give-free-health-care-to-illegal-immigrants\/","title":{"rendered":"Biden Administration Expands Health Care Access for Undocumented Immigrants"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fbiden-hhs-redefines-lawfully-present-to-give-free-health-care-to-illegal-immigrants%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2239753&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The Biden administration redefined &#8220;lawfully present&#8221; to \u200b<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ca-mayor-calls-on-lawmakers-to-reverse-free-health-insurance-to-all-illegal-immigrants-2\/\" title=\"CA Mayor Urges Lawmakers to Revoke Free Health Insurance for Illegal Immigrants\">grant health benefits<\/a> to unauthorized immigrants. The\u200c final rule expands access to \u200c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/studies-medicaid-rolls-improper-payments-expand-hurting-state-budgets\/\" title=\"Studies: Medicaid Rolls, Improper Payments Expand Hurting State Budgets\">taxpayer-funded health benefits<\/a>, particularly \u200dfor DACA participants. Medicaid changes have been delayed, possibly to \u200davoid legal challenges and additional state costs. The strategy seems to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/education-department-proposal-would-flood-public-schools-with-woke-curricula\/\" title=\"Education Department Proposal Would Flood Public Schools With Woke Curricula\">prioritize federal funding<\/a> over potential legal disputes with states. The Biden administration&#8217;s revision of the \u2063&#8221;lawfully present&#8221; definition aims to extend health\u200d benefits to unauthorized immigrants, with a focus on aiding DACA\u200b participants. Delaying\u2062 Medicaid alterations may serve to evade legal conflicts and state financial burdens, emphasizing federal funding preservation over\u200c potential legal battles with states.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"article-content\">\n<p>So much for a border crisis. The Biden administration recently finalized regulations that will provide taxpayer-funded benefits to individuals who came into this country lacking authorization, by defining them as \u201clawfully present.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The final rule follows regulations <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2023\/04\/26\/biden-invites-more-illegal-immigrants-by-proposing-free-health-care-at-your-expense\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">proposed last spring<\/a>. It will have the same major effects as the initial proposal by expanding access to taxpayer health benefits for specified populations, but seems craftily drafted in a way to avoid, or at least minimize, legal challenges.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2-long d-flex justify-content-center\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; \" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-1002875296\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1379703300879-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-f443b3856902db117234add74766a860 fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-f443b3856902db117234add74766a860\"><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Medicaid Expansion Not Finalized<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>The prime controversy in both <a href=\"https:\/\/public-inspection.federalregister.gov\/2023-08635.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">last year\u2019s proposed rule<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/public-inspection.federalregister.gov\/2024-09661.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">this year\u2019s final version<\/a> is over health coverage for individuals participating in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. Both regulations would revise the definition of \u201clawfully present\u201d to include DACA participants for purposes of participation in health programs under Obamacare.<\/p>\n<p>One major difference lies in the applicability of the regulatory changes. Whereas last year\u2019s proposed rule changed the definition of \u201clawfully present\u201d for both the insurance exchanges and Medicaid, the final regulation only applied the change to the exchanges, at least for the moment.<\/p>\n<p>As a practical matter, not finalizing the Medicaid change will have little impact on DACA participants. Unlike <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/03\/18\/mississippis-work-requirement-for-medicaid-is-just-an-excuse-to-expand-the-welfare-state\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">most other populations<\/a>, DACA participants will not need to earn income equal to the <a href=\"https:\/\/aspe.hhs.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/documents\/7240229f28375f54435c5b83a3764cd1\/detailed-guidelines-2024.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">poverty level<\/a> ($15,060 for a single person in 2024) to qualify for exchange subsidies. And because Biden-era enhanced subsidies remain in effect next year, the lowest-income recipients can qualify for subsidies that require no out-of-pocket premium for a benchmark health plan.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Fear of Legal Challenge<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>In the final rule, the administration stated, \u201cWe are not finalizing a \u2018lawfully present\u2019 definition for Medicaid \u2026 at this time. Rather, we are taking more time to evaluate and carefully consider the comments regarding our proposal with respect to Medicaid\u2026[and] to continue evaluating the potential impact of our proposed definition of \u2018lawfully present\u2019 on state Medicaid\u201d agencies.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-6e6a90d0fd5914bca3bbddcf18b7108c fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-6\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-6e6a90d0fd5914bca3bbddcf18b7108c\"><\/div>\n<p>The administration claims state agencies have too many other obligations associated with the Medicaid \u201cunwinding\u201d \u2014 that is, removing ineligible individuals from the Medicaid rolls for the first time since early 2020 lockdowns. But that explanation seems like a pretext, given that most states will complete their \u201cunwinding\u201d before the \u201clawfully present\u201d rule takes effect on Nov. 1, 2024.<\/p>\n<p>The more accurate explanation for the change lies in last year\u2019s admission in the proposed rule that changing the definition of \u201clawfully present\u201d in Medicaid \u201cmay impose substantial direct costs on state governments.\u201d I <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2023\/04\/26\/biden-invites-more-illegal-immigrants-by-proposing-free-health-care-at-your-expense\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">noted last spring<\/a> that this language \u201cgives states clear standing to sue\u201d over this unfunded mandate for states to pay for the increased costs associated with covering DACA participants.<\/p>\n<p>By making DACA participants eligible for exchange subsidies (fully paid for by the federal government) instead of Medicaid (paid for by the states and Washington), the Biden administration is trying to avoid giving states standing to mount a legal challenge. In fact, the administration stated elsewhere in the regulation that the change \u201cdoes not require states to fund additional outreach and enrollment activities as a result of this rule.\u201d Apparently, the administration wants to avoid imposing any new costs on states \u2014 in Medicaid, on the exchanges, or otherwise \u2014 because if courts grant a state standing to challenge part of the rule, it could create an opening to strike the entire rule down.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Billions in New Spending<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Apart from the clever way the administration has attempted to avoid legal challenges, the entire premise of the rule seems rather Orwellian. The idea that a president can unilaterally declare a group of individuals \u201clawfully\u201d present without the consent of Congress defies logic, not to mention the basic principles of \u201cour democracy\u201d that the left purports to care so much about.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-4fff29e47107f353b9daef2770b4d4a7 fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-10\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-4fff29e47107f353b9daef2770b4d4a7\"><\/div>\n<p>Consider this sentence: \u201cSome commenters noted opposition to this rule on the basis that they believe DACA recipients entered the United States unlawfully, that they believe DACA recipients are undocumented, or that they believe DACA recipients have broken the law.\u201d None of those are <em>beliefs<\/em>, they are <em>facts<\/em>. <\/p>\n<p>To qualify for DACA, one by definition had to have entered the United States unlawfully and without documentation. What someone wants to do about migrants who entered the country as young children is an entirely separate question, but attempting to deny the basic facts of their circumstances is gaslighting.<\/p>\n<p>The administration estimates this change will increase federal spending by $1.15 billion between now and 2028. Even this estimate could prove low, as the official analysis assumes that exactly none of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nilc.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/NILC_DACA-Report_2023.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">nearly three-quarters<\/a> (73 percent) of DACA recipients who currently have coverage will drop that coverage to obtain government benefits.<\/p>\n<p>In 1993, Hillary Clinton <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/WTVQQubdJ-w\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">testified before Congress<\/a> that \u201cwe certainly don\u2019t want [illegal aliens] having the same benefits that American citizens are entitled to have\u201d because \u201cwe know now that too many people come in[totheUnitedStatesformedicalcareasitis\u201dThefactthatClinton\u2019scommentsrepresentalonevoiceofsanityintheDemocraticPartyspeakstoitsleftwardradicalizationoverthepastthreedecades[totheUnitedStatesformedicalcareasitis\u201dThefactthatClinton\u2019scommentsrepresentalonevoiceofsanityintheDemocraticPartyspeakstoitsleftwardradicalizationoverthepastthreedecades<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-5c33447fd1a929443bf6cc641010993c fdrlst__b89e9-after-post-content\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-5c33447fd1a929443bf6cc641010993c\"><\/div>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">    \t\t\t\t\t   \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Despite the border crisis, the Biden administration approved regulations granting taxpayer-funded benefits to unauthorized individuals by redefining them as &#8220;lawfully present.&#8221; This final rule, similar to the spring proposal, aims to expand access to essential services for those lacking authorization<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":521,"featured_media":2239754,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/45980967562_2d76de7943_k.jpeg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2239753","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/45980967562_2d76de7943_k.jpeg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2239753","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/521"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2239753"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2239753\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2239754"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2239753"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2239753"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2239753"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}