Via Townhall: So, This Is Where Taxpayer Dollars Are Going
Last month, Chairman Jodey Arrington (R-TX) asked the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to analyze the cost to taxpayers of Vice President Kamala Harris’s open border agenda on the Medicaid program. CBO’s conclusion: between 2021 and 2023, the Biden-Harris Administration’s open border agenda provided taxpayer-funded emergency Medicaid services to illegal aliens, costing federal and state taxpayers more than $16.2 billion. This is a staggering increase of 124 percent compared to the same period under the Trump Administration.
Recently, Sarah Arnold published an article in Townhall that described how millions of illegal immigrants now receive free healthcare under Medicaid, leaving American taxpayers to foot the bill.
Word on the Street:
Sarah Arnold, Via Townhall:
- “Under the Biden-Harris Administration, millions of illegal immigrants have been given free access to U.S. hospitals and Medicaid, straining resources that should otherwise go to American citizens.”
- “A new study conducted by the Foundation for Government Accountability found that the Biden-Harris Administration’s reckless border policies will cost hard-working taxpayers tens of billions of dollars a year and roughly $150 billion a year in higher taxes.”
- “A study of nine states, including Arizona, Kentucky, Missouri, Texas, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Michigan, emphasized the Foundation for Government Accountability’s report, revealing that the number of illegal immigrants in its Medicaid program spiked 500 percent. This resulted in taxpayers having to fork over nearly 550 percent more to cover the financial burden of illegal alien’s medical needs.”
- “The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released an analysis that found that President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris’ immigration policies have cost federal and state taxpayers over $16.2 billion to provide Medicaid-funded emergency services to undocumented citizens— an increase of 124 percent compared to the same period under former President Donald Trump.”
- “In addition, thanks to the bureaucracy of the Biden and Harris administrations, hospitals cannot verify whether patients are legal U.S. citizens. States can usually check a patient's citizenship status through federal sources such as Social Security. However, Biden and Harris made it so that if government data doesn't match, states must provide patients with a 90-day grace period to submit documentation that verifies their citizenship and information regarding their Medicaid coverage.”
- “The Congressional Budget Office’s analysis confirms that the mass migration of illegal immigrants is costing billions of dollars to Medicaid - a program created to serve the health care needs of the most vulnerable Americans,” House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington (R-TX) said. “This is on top of the executive action taken to provide $9 billion in Obamacare to illegal immigrants.”
- “He accused Harris and Biden’s failed border policies of being the most significant threat to the country's national security and economic standing.”
- “Despite illegal immigrants not being eligible to enroll in federally funded health coverage such as full Medicaid, some Democrat-led states such as New York and California are trying to change that.”
- “Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) announced that as of Jan. 1, 2024, illegal aliens were eligible for taxpayer-funded health insurance. This means roughly 4.4 million illegal immigrants qualify for Medi-Cal, California’s state-funded version of the federal government's Medicaid program.”
The Bottom Line:
The Biden-Harris Administration’s open border policies have led to millions of illegal aliens flooding across the Southwest border and ultimately tapping into health care benefits financed by hardworking Americans’ tax dollars.
House Budget Republicans are committed to sounding the alarm on the Biden-Harris Administration’s failed border policies that continue to threaten the safety of Americans today.
More from the House Budget Committee:
Read Chairman Arrington’s statement on CBO’s report confirming the Medicaid spending on illegal immigrants has cost taxpayers over $16.2 billion HERE.
Read Chairman Arrington’s statement on CBO’s report confirming the Thrifty Food Plan defied Congressional intent HERE.
Read Chairman Arrington’s opening remarks at the Cost of the Border Crisis hearing HERE.
