PRESS RELEASE

AAPCHO Applauds Plan for Expanding Health Care Coverage for
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) Recipients

March 14, 2023
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
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WASHINGTON—The Association of Asian Pacific Community Health Organizations (AAPCHO) issued the following statement on the Biden-Harris administration’s plan to expand health insurance eligibility for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients. 

Jeffrey B. Caballero, executive director at AAPCHO said, 

“Everyone deserves health care. Enabling DACA recipients to enroll in public health care programs like Medicaid and be eligible to receive subsidized Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace coverage would be a victorious milestone for immigrant communities, including Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. DACA recipients are our family members, friends, colleagues, and community members. They have a right to affordable culturally and linguistically appropriate care. 

“AAPCHO applauds President Biden and HHS Secretary Becerra for taking the steps necessary to expand health care access, regardless of immigration status. We, along with our members and partners, look forward to the Biden administration finalizing this rule so that DACA recipients can access these critical programs as soon as possible. We also continue to call on Congress to pass legislation to allow all immigrants to access the health care they need.”

About AAPCHO

AAPCHO is a national association of community health organizations dedicated to promoting advocacy, collaboration and leadership that improves the health status and access of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders in the United States, the U.S. territories, and Freely Associated States. For more information on AAPCHO, please visit www.aapcho.org.

Contact 

Kristine Cecile Alarcon, MPH, (510) 671-5054, kalarcon@aapcho.org