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California will soon be the first state in the nation to ask the federal government to allow immigrants in the country illegally to purchase health insurance through a state exchange. Democrats from the Golden State gathered outside the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday to urge President Obama to approve the request quickly. (Wire, 9/14)

In a move that is sure to draw the ire of Republicans, California officials are asking the Obama administration this week to approve a plan that would allow undocumented immigrants to buy health insurance on the state’s public exchange. Officials say that up to 30 percent of the state’s two million undocumented adults could be eligible for the program, and that roughly 17,000 people are expected to participate in the first year, if the plan is approved. But the proposal faces serious hurdles in Washington, where it must be approved by both the Treasury and the Health and Human Services Departments. (Medina, 9/14)

California Democrats on Wednesday urged the Obama administration to approve a waiver that would allow undocumented immigrants to access unsubsidized health care under the state’s insurance marketplace. California Gov. Jerry Brown, a Democrat, signed a bill in June that obligated the state to ask the federal government to allow undocumented immigrants to purchase insurance on the state’s marketplace set up under the Affordable Care Act. Under the health care law, undocumented immigrants are not eligible to purchase insurance on the exchanges. (McIntire, 9/14)