Since around 2020, Washington, D.C., and seven states have opened their health care programs to illegal aliens. However, since President Trump’s administration began, some states have abruptly changed their policy positions.
According to the Associated Press, California, Illinois, and Minnesota, all heavily Democrat-run states, have announced that they will be scaling back or ending their Medicaid programs for illegal aliens.
‘When we looked at the state budget, the dollars were not there to support what was passed and what was being spent.’
Illinois will begin slashing its Medicaid availability immediately for illegal immigrants ages 42-64 for an estimated $404 million in savings.
Minnesota likewise will be ending the program for adult illegal immigrants immediately. It is estimated that the state will save $57 million with this policy change.
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Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images
Minnesota Speaker Lisa Demuth (R) said that the health care program was not sustainable in her state.
“It wasn’t about trying to be non-compassionate or not caring about people,” she said, according to the AP. “When we looked at the state budget, the dollars were not there to support what was passed and what was being spent.”
Illegal alien adults in Minnesota will still have the option of purchasing health insurance, Demuth said.
California, on the other hand, will stop enrolling adult illegal immigrants into its program in 2026, which will save the state more than $3 billion over several years.
Health officials estimate that roughly 200,000 illegal aliens will lose health coverage in California when the program cuts take effect next year. However, Governor Gavin Newsom (D) reportedly maintains that the state still provides the most expansive health care coverage for poor adults.
Health care providers have pointed to the increasing number of immigration raids by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency as a contributing factor of changing patient behavior. Fears of deportation have decreased the number of regular health care visits from illegal aliens.
This change in policy in blue states comes in light of the broader deportation efforts by the Trump administration, which has reversed many of the immigration policies of the Biden administration.
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Politics, Medicaid, California, Illegal aliens, Medicaid cuts, Gavin newsom, Ice, Mass deportations
