Welcome to POLITICO’s West Wing Playbook, your guide to the people and power centers in the Biden administration. With help from producer Raymond Rapada. Send tips | Subscribe here | Email Eli | Email Lauren MIRYAM MATUTE, a Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipient, has been without health insurance for two years. It’s a form of existence she described as being in “a black hole.” “I wake up every day and I think, ‘Oh my gosh, does this mean something bad? Is this headache something more?’” said Matute, who’s lived in the United States since she was 3 years old. “And it’s kind of awful to live like that every single day — not knowing when I can maybe go to the doctor, if I can even afford it.” Last April, Matute was given a sliver of hope when President JOE BIDEN unveiled a proposal to give health insurance to eligible DACA recipients under the Affordable Care Act. The administration said, at the time, that it expected the health care expansion to take effect by Nov. 1. But Nov. 1 came and went, and Matute remains uninsured, for no other apparent reason other than that the Biden administration has been slow to move forward. She is among the estimated 129,000 people who stand to benefit from the Biden administration’s proposal. “That would be life changing not just for myself, but for my family,” said Matute, who will begin medical school next fall. “The impact that it would have, giving me that peace of mind, knowing that my health is OK. And I can take care of my family. That means everything.” The delay in extending health insurance coverage to eligible DACA recipients has alarmed immigration policy advocates and Democrats in Congress who have been pressing the administration on the missed deadline. Sen. CORY BOOKER (D-N.J.) led lawmakers in a letter to the administration earlier this month, asking why the Department of Health and Human Services has yet to finalize the rule and what the administration was doing to ensure newly eligible people were aware of coverage options. HHS had said in April that it planned to enact the new policy by Nov. 1, the start of the 2024 ACA open enrollment period. But there has been little to no guidance since. “It’s been crickets,” said KICA MATOS, president of the National Immigration Law Center. The White House deferred to HHS for questions on the rulemaking process. An HHS spokesperson told West Wing Playbook that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has “received a variety of comments during the comment period and the policy remains under review.” Matos said she fears the delay will mean potentially eligible DACA recipients won’t benefit from the 2024 open enrollment period, which ends in January. “The timing made a lot of sense, especially since DACA recipients would have benefited from the advocacy and outreach around open enrollment,” Matos said. “Immigrant populations are often harder to reach.” Beyond the policy impact, the DACA rule change could also be viewed as a political win for Biden, advocates argue — a way for the president to show progress on a popular immigration issue going into 2024. “It really gives the administration an opportunity to advance the goal of greater health care for all and bolster its standing with key voter blocs,” Matos said. “Biden is losing ground with Latinos and other voting groups in the lead up to the 2024 elections. So this is both good policy and good politics.” MESSAGE US — JOY NGUGI, senior presidential producer? We want to hear from you. And we’ll keep you anonymous! Email us at westwingtips@politico.com. Did someone forward this email to you? Subscribe here!
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