Representative Brian Mast (R-FL) recently declared on X that any Democrat who is denying that illegal aliens receive healthcare via Medicare and Medicaid is "lying."
Republicans have long argued that Democrats have sought $1.5 trillion in extra spending on top of the continuing resolution (CR) to provide healthcare coverage to illegal aliens, which Democrats have repeatedly denied.
"Democrats want to shut down the government because we won't give them free healthcare for illegals," Representative Kat Cammack (R-FL) declared at the beginning of the shutdown. "On top of that, they won't even pass a bill that protects our military or border patrol agents' pay in the event of a shutdown! So let's see if they are willing to give up their pay as well; I'll start."
However, the Foundation for Government Accountability (FGA) has released a study demonstrating how illegal aliens receive backdoor healthcare funding via loopholes in Medicaid and Affordable Care Act provisions.
A chief driver is emergency Medicaid funds, which FGA describes as "a narrow safety net to reimburse hospitals for life-saving care provided to illegal aliens, spending on this program has ballooned in recent years."
Notably, such emergency funding tripled under the Biden Administration, and California alone made use of over $4 billion in these funds, which accounted for 74% of emergency Medicaid funding distributed nationwide.
Another method FGA outlined was that certain states classify illegal aliens who have been paroled for at least one year as "qualified aliens" for Medicaid eligibility purposes, while others who have temporary protected status (TPS), deferred enforced departure (DED) status, deferred action status, or are seeking asylum are similarly qualified for certain programs.
Finally, outright fraud is prevalent, as millions of Americans are victims of identity theft every year.
"In 2024, under the Biden Administration, $6.1 BILLION taxpayer dollars were used to provide “emergency Medicaid coverage” to illegal aliens," Rep. Mast posted to X. "Any Democrat that tells you illegal aliens don’t receive Medicaid benefits is flat out LYING."
