President Obama has championed two sweeping policy changes that could transform how people live in the United States: affordable health care for all and a path to citizenship for the 11 million immigrants in the country illegally, AP reports.
But many immigrants will have to wait more than a decade to qualify for health-care benefits under the proposed immigration overhaul being debated in Congress.
Lawmakers pushing the immigration bill said that adding more recipients to an already costly benefit would make it unaffordable.
Health-care analysts and immigration proponents argue that denying coverage will saddle local governments with the burden of uninsured immigrants. They also fear a crisis down the road as immigrants become eligible for coverage, but are older, sicker and require more expensive care.
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