Press Releases

Washington, D.C. – Congressman Josh Brecheen and Senator JD Vance (R-OH) demanded that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) rescinds a proposed rule that would provide healthcare to illegal aliens presently in the United States under the DACA program. 

“HHS estimates that giving DACA recipients access to these healthcare programs will cost taxpayers more than $100 million in the first year alone. We should not be rewarding illegal immigration and further straining programs like Medicaid that are intended for Americans and those immigrants here legally. We call on President Biden’s HHS to rescind this proposed rule immediately,” said Congressman Josh Brecheen.  

The Daily Caller’s Henry Rodgers wrote an exclusive report on the letter, which you can check out here.

Cosigners include: Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO), Representatives Andy Biggs (R-AZ), Lauren Boebert (R-CO), Ken Buck (R-CO), Eli Crane (R-AZ), Jeff Duncan (R-SC), Bob Good (R-VA), Paul Gosar (R-AZ), Glenn Grothman (R-WI), Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), Tom McClintock (R-CA), Matt Rosendale (R-MT), and Tom Tiffany (R-WI). 

Read the full letter here.

Excerpts:

“We write to you with deep concern regarding the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) proposed rule to provide Medicaid, CHIP, and Affordable Care Act (ACA) Marketplace access to illegal aliens living in the U.S. under the unlawful Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. 

In October 2022, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled the DACA program illegal but allowed those illegal aliens already protected by the program to maintain their prior protected status. On April 26, 2023, your Department announced its proposed rule to expand the definition of “lawfully present” to now include DACA recipients who were previously shielded from deportation under the deferred action program President Obama unilaterally created in June 2012. HHS states in its proposed rule that this expansion intends to make hundreds of thousands of previously ineligible illegal aliens now eligible for various healthcare programs like Qualified Health Plans, premium tax credits, cost sharing reductions, and the Basic Health Program. The Department estimates that this expansion will cost more than $100 million in its first year alone.”

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“Clearly, it is not in Americans’ interest to have the federal government use taxpayer dollars to provide health care to illegal aliens as their government fails to enforce existing immigration law against those same individuals. 

We urge you to abandon the proposed rule and not expand the definition of “lawfully present.” It is time for the federal government to prioritize Americans’ interests, and prioritizing health insurance coverage for American citizens and those here legally would be a strong start.” 

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