New Jersey Leads 14 States in Defending Dreamers’ Access to Health Insurance

NEW JERSEY – As the incoming Trump Administration signals that it may no longer support a recent federal rule granting health insurance access to Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin today announced he is leading a coalition of 14 states intervening to defend the rule in federal court. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a Final Rule in 2024 expanding Affordable Care Act (ACA) exchange eligibility to DACA recipients. That rule is now facing a legal challenge brought by several states led by Kansas, and Attorney General Platkin’s coalition is moving to protect these crucial health care benefits.

“I have proudly led the fight for DACA for years, and now I’m proud to lead the effort ensuring that Dreamers have the same access to healthcare as everyone else,” said Attorney General Platkin. “We know that President-elect Trump plans to undo protections and health care for our Dreamers, and states like New Jersey are ready to fight back. Dreamers are a critical part of the New Jersey community, and America is the only country they know. Undermining Dreamers’ access to healthcare not only hurts them and their American children, but it harms states like New Jersey too. We will never back down from fighting for our Dreamers, no matter who is in charge in Washington.”

Background on DACA Health Coverage

• DACA Program: Established in 2012, it allows certain young people who arrived in the U.S. as children—and have continuously resided here—to remain and work lawfully for renewable two-year periods.
• Previous Exclusion: Before the 2024 Final Rule, DACA recipients were barred from purchasing health insurance on federal or state ACA exchanges, even though Congress extended access to anyone “lawfully present,” a classification that generally includes those granted deferred action.
• Legal Challenge: A coalition of states filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of North Dakota, asking to block or delay implementation of the Final Rule. The district court has so far prevented the rule’s implementation in some states, but it remains in effect in states like New Jersey, allowing “Dreamers” continued access to ACA coverage through Get Covered New Jersey.

“New Jersey’s Dreamers make our state strong and vibrant and they should not be deprived of access to basic health care services,” said Governor Murphy. “We must never back down from defending our fundamental values.”

Why the States Are Intervening

The coalition’s motion explains that the incoming Trump Administration is expected to stop defending the Final Rule. As the prior Trump Administration declined to defend both DACA and the ACA, Attorney General Platkin and the other states are stepping in to ensure DACA recipients remain eligible for ACA exchanges. The states argue that removing DACA recipients from ACA coverage would:

• Harm State Economies: DACA recipients contribute billions in federal, state, and local taxes, and often support U.S. citizen relatives.
• Increase Uninsured Populations: This leads to higher overall healthcare costs, greater uncompensated care, and worse public health outcomes.
• Exclude Productive Residents: DACA recipients work in essential industries—including healthcare, education, and the military—and many own businesses that employ U.S. citizens.
• Shrink ACA Risk Pools: Particularly in states operating their own health exchanges, losing DACA recipients could reduce the diversity and size of the risk pool, driving up premiums for everyone.

“These are our friends, neighbors and colleagues. They are New Jerseyans who contribute to our state culturally and economically, and should have the right like every other New Jerseyan to purchase health coverage through the ACA. It’s disheartening that we must continuously defend the rights of all people to access life-saving health care, but we will continue to do so because it is the morally right thing to do,” said New Jersey Department of Human Services Commissioner Sarah Adelman.

New Jersey’s Leading Role

• Longstanding DACA Defense: New Jersey has led the fight to defend DACA since 2018 in the face of lawsuits attempting to dismantle the program.
• Early Support for the Final Rule: In 2023, New Jersey led a comment letter, supported by multiple states, urging HHS to adopt the new coverage provision.
• Significant DACA Population: Over 16,000 active DACA recipients live in New Jersey, most of whom are employed, many attend colleges or own businesses, and many have U.S. citizen family members.

“Dreamers—like all New Jerseyans—deserve to have access to quality health care services. The ability to purchase affordable health insurance under the ACA makes that access possible and can be transformative to their lives. It’s also smart public health policy that keeps people out of emergency rooms and reduces uncompensated hospital costs. Stripping this fundamental access to affordable health care from Dreamers doesn’t just harm them – it harms us all by undermining our health care systems,” said New Jersey Health Commissioner Kaitlan Baston, MD, MSc, DFASAM.

Nationwide Impact

Nationwide, DACA recipients have an estimated 250,000 U.S.-citizen children. According to federal data, they are roughly three times more likely to be uninsured than the general U.S. population, placing them at higher risk of being under- or uninsured.

Coalition Partners

In addition to New Jersey, Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, and Vermont are joining this motion. In New Jersey, the matter is being led by Assistant Attorney General Mayur Saxena, and Deputy Attorneys General Viviana Hanley, Jessica Palmer, Andrew Yang, Joshua Bohn, Bryce Hurst, Amanda Morejon, and Estefania Pugliese-Saville with support from the New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance, Department of Health, Department of Human Services, and University Hospital.

By intervening in the lawsuit, Attorney General Platkin’s multistate coalition aims to ensure DACA recipients can continue purchasing affordable health coverage on the ACA exchanges, preventing a potential lapse in coverage that would endanger residents and burden states nationwide.

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