Oct 8, 2014 - HISPANIC LEADERS CALL ON PRESIDENT TO ALLOW HEALTH CARE ACCESS FOR DEFERRED ACTION RECIPIENTS

For Immediate Release October 8, 2014

HISPANIC LEADERS CALL ON PRESIDENT TO ALLOW HEALTH CARE ACCESS FOR DEFERRED ACTION RECIPIENTS

Immigrants brought to the U.S. as children and those who benefit from expanded administrative relief should have access to the programs their taxes pay for

Washington, D.C. -- The National Hispanic Leadership Agenda (NHLA), a coalition of 39 of the nation's preeminent Latino organizations, has called on President Barack Obama and HHS Secretary Sylvia Matthews Burwell to restore access to affordable health coverage and care to those enrolled in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which the President established to provide temporary relief from deportation to those undocumented immigrants who were brought into the U.S. as children. Under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) changes to existing federal rules in August of 2012, those with DACA are barred from access to the health insurance marketplaces established by the Affordable Care Act, as well as federal Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) in about half of all states.

In a letter sent to President Obama this morning and at a meeting with Secretary Burwell last week, NHLA called on the President to restore access to healthcare to those granted DACA and to ensure that those who benefit from any future expanded administrative relief program are also guaranteed fair access to affordable health coverage programs.

Denying DACA grantees access to Medicaid, CHIP, and the health insurance marketplaces established by the Affordable Care Act leads to poorer health outcomes and unfairly excludes them from programs that their tax dollars help fund. Since the majority of DACA grantees are Latino, the current bar on their participation in the health insurance marketplaces has a disproportionately high impact on the Latino community, especially women, resulting in a higher uninsured rate than in the non-Hispanic white and African American populations.

“As we prepare for the next open enrollment period of the health insurance marketplaces, less than six weeks away, our message to the Latino community should not be ‘no DACA grantees need apply.’ With the stroke of a pen, the President can erase the injustice of DACA grantees being excluded from vital health programs that their tax dollars pay for,” said Hector Sanchez, NHLA Chair and Executive Director of the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement.

“The denial of healthcare to those granted DACA has had a harmful impact on the health of immigrant Latinas. Immigrant women and families make important contributions to our nation’s communities and our economy. They deserve access to comprehensive healthcare services including preventive care, contraception, and pregnancy care as a matter of basic human rights and dignity. We also know that expanding access to affordable health coverage and care is smart fiscal and public health policy. We hope the President will make these commonsense fixes to ensure DACA recipients and those who benefit from any future administrative relief program can participate in the healthcare programs their tax dollars contribute to,” said Jessica González-Rojas, Executive Director of the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health (NLIRH).

“In this era of increasing concerns about public health, our nation can ill afford to continue to arbitrarily and punitively deny affordable health care to a subset of hard-working Americans,” stated Thomas A. Saenz, MALDEF President and General Counsel. “Our national health and prosperity literally and figuratively depend on ending this unwarranted discrimination.”

"Excluding DREAMers from affordable healthcare undercuts the very spirit of DACA and ACA," said José Calderón, President of Hispanic Federation. "It is bewildering that the promise of both of these signature Obama initiatives is being undermined by his administration's unnecessary and nonsensical restriction denying DACA beneficiaries from purchasing health care coverage. It is time for the President to act and show his unequivocal support for the policies he champions and says he believes in."

“DACA recipients should have access to healthcare and also be encouraged to consider becoming doctors and nurses and other healthcare professionals in order to help provide needed services to their communities across the nation,” said Dr. Elena Rios, President of the National Hispanic Medical Association.

For the full text of NHLA’s letter to President Obama, click here or copy and paste this web address into your browser: http://nationalhispanicleadership.org/headlines/NHLALetter/

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Established in 1991, the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda (NHLA) brings together Hispanic leaders to establish policy priorities that address, and raise public awareness of, the major issues affecting the Latino community and the nation as a whole. In 2013, NHLA launched the Latinos United for Immigration Reform campaign. For more information, please visit www.nationalhispanicleadership.org and LatinosUnited.org and follow @NHLAgenda.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:

| Carmen Orozco-Acosta | This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. | (512) 787-6508 |
| Brenda Arredondo | This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. | (915) 373-1483 |