Trump administration moves to stop Medicaid funds to illegal immigrants
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Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz said Thursday that an internal review found more than $1 billion in Medicaid payments to illegal immigrants in several states, a problem the Trump administration is now trying to fix.
“Democrats have been enlightening us for a long time about Medicaid funds going to illegal immigrants,” Oz said on “Fox & Friends.”
Health care for illegal immigrants has been a major issue prolonging the latest government shutdown, now in its third week. Republicans accuse Democrats of obstructing efforts to reduce government waste while allowing federal health care dollars to go to illegal immigrants.
Oz said his agency’s investigation into the matter was “just getting started” and that the final figure included only a few states.
FED REVIEW REDUCES RECOMMENDATIONS FOR EMERGENCY MEDICAID ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT HEALTH COVERAGE
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz speaks at a press conference with Senate Republican leaders after their weekly policy luncheon in Washington, D.C., on September 16. (Nathan Posner/Anatolia via Getty Images)
“If you live in Texas or Florida and pay U.S. federal taxes (which most people do), your money is directed to places like California that provide strong benefits to illegal immigrants,” he said.
“We are investigating this now and [going to] Continue to follow this across the country.”
Democrats have refused to budge on reopening the government, saying they won’t vote for a funding bill unless it includes an extension of Enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies that expire in 2025. They argue that failure to act before open enrollment begins in November could leave millions of Americans facing higher premiums.
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Still, the White House says Democrats want to direct billions of dollars toward Medicaid coverage for illegal immigrants.
“The Democrats’ proposal would result in nearly $200 billion spent on health care for illegal immigrants and other noncitizens over the next decade, enough to fully fund the Children’s Health Insurance Program.” The White House said in its online statement:.
Oz described the issue as a moral issue, saying taxpayer dollars should not fund health care for individuals who do not pay into the system.
“You can’t just distribute it to healthy illegal immigrants in the states because they think it’s the right thing to do,” he said.
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“If they want to pay for it, they should.”
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Öz attended a press conference at the US Department of Justice in Washington DC on June 30. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
Federal law prohibits illegal immigrants from enrolling in Medicaid, but some states take advantage of loopholes to extend some Medicaid-funded health benefits to them.
Oz said his agency is now working to close those gaps.
“We’re going to put all this money back into our federal coffers. The president is focused on protecting U.S. taxpayers.”
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