Democrats Defend Medicaid Coverage for Illegal Immigrants

The Trump administration is praising House Republicans for protecting Americans’ Medicaid access by removing noncitizens from the program.

The House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Tuesday markup of budget reconciliation prohibits federal funding under Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program for illegal immigrants.

“President Trump and Republicans are protecting Medicaid—and that starts with kicking 1.4 million illegal immigrants off the program to prioritize the Americans who need it,” White House spokesman Kush Desai said in a statement to The Daily Signal.

The markup removes “people without verified citizenship, nationality, or satisfactory immigration status who would be covered in state-only funded programs under current law.” That’s estimated to be 1.4 million by 2034.

Last month’s budget resolution tasked the House Energy and Commerce Committee with slashing $880 billion in spending. Since then, swirling rumors—especially about Medicaid cuts—have stirred chaos on Capitol Hill.

Democrats have accused Republicans of cutting Medicaid for Americans, failing to note that Republicans are actually cutting coverage for illegal immigrants.

“Republicans are rushing the markup and hoping to pass the bill in the middle of the night because they don’t want people to realize what’s in it, or how many Americans are going to lose their health care as a result,” a spokesperson for Energy and Commerce Committee Democrats said in a statement.

The Energy and Commerce bill aims to ensure proof of citizenship or requisite immigration status is provided before the state doles out Medicaid care benefits, rather than enrolling such applicants immediately and then waiting for proof of citizenship later. Another provision reduces the Federal Medical Assistance Percentage for Medicaid expansion states that provide health care coverage for illegal immigrants under state-run health programs.

Republicans are not kicking 13.7 million Americans off Medicaid, but strengthening the program for those who need it, said Rep. Buddy Carter, R-Ga.

“We’re making sure no illegals are going to be in the program. We are making sure people aren’t registered in more than one state,” he said. “We’re making sure there are going to be work requirements.”

“We are stabilizing this program,” Carter continued. “To fear-monger that we’re trying to kick people off is simply untrue.”