Who are Dreamers?
Today, Suzie & Matt are going to talk about Dreamers. The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. The program was designed to provide temporary relief from deportation and allow people to legally work. There is about 16,030 Dreamers are in Washington State and there are probably more waiting.
Dreamer is not an easy process to achieve. There is an injunction in Southern District Court that prevents confirmation of new filings. There is about another 100,000 applications in process. If you have not applied and meet the guidelines then filing could benefit you down the road
The website for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services goes into the details for Dreamer Status and has an online filing process. While we don’t do that at Wenatchee Insurance, we can talk about the insurance.
Immigrant Health in Washington
The important thing going on is the shift in Health Insurance for Immigrants.
In November 2023, Wenatchee Insurance started enrolling people into healthcare regardless of Immigration status. It is a great program that with a state-secure application grants access to the Healthplanfinder, Health Insurance, and monthly cost savings with tax credits.
This was the largest group of uninsured in the state. They didn’t have access to a large group plan from an employer. They are students, stay-at-home parents, or even worked small businesses. At Wenatchee Insurance, we have advocated for immigrants to be covered for over a decade.
On July 1st, 2023, the Healthcare Authority Authorized the first 10,000 immigrants into the Apple Health Program. Those who were enrolled in other immigrant health programs or enrolled with a current plan went first and were under 158% of the poverty level. Yes, this is the regular Apple Health program level. It allowed people to get medical treatment and the providers to get paid promptly.
The next big change Dreamers:
CMS made a Final Rule in May to the definition of “lawfully present” for those who qualify for a health plan.
If you are a Dreamer or a DACA recipient and other newly eligible individuals you will qualify for a Special Enrollment on November 1st, 2024, and have a plan on the Healthplanfinder starting as early as December 1st.
This will provide Dreamers access to Federal Advanced Premium Tax Credits which will lower their Healthcare costs further. If you have a current plan and are only using the state credits, then the application will have to be adjusted.
If you do not have health insurance, then we want to run the application, and you can have Healthcare before Christmas of 2024.
Set an appointment early as the Health Open Enrollment runs from November 1st through December 15th for plans that start January 1st, 2025.
There is an additional enrollment period of December 15 through January 15 for plans starting February 1st.
