Democratic states reducing healthcare services for undocumented individuals

A trio of Democrat-led states facing budget crises are moving to cut health care funding for undocumented immigrants.

Now that federal COVID-19 relief has ended and states’ actual spending is higher than projected, some governors have begun rolling back health care coverage.

The progressive governors of California, Illinois and Minnesota have sought to roll back or freeze programs that extended state-funded health care to people who entered the country illegally, citing rising costs and unexpectedly high enrollment. Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser is looking to follow suit.

In California, Gov. Gavin Newsom said he wants to freeze new enrollment in Medicare for undocumented adults. Existing patients would remain covered, but they could see benefit cuts.

It’s exactly what Republicans like California Assembly member Carl DeMaio have been calling for.

“We simply can’t afford it, and it’s certainly not just to put the health coverage of poor Californians, elderly, disabled, young children at risk because California politicians want to give free handouts to people who are not even citizens,” he said.

In Illinois, Gov. JB Pritzker has gone further, calling for the end of the state’s immigrant adult health program entirely on July 1. It launched in 2021 and covers more than 30,000 people.

Minnesota is also pulling back, kicking undocumented adults off MinnesotaCare by the end of the year. The top Democrat in the state House, Melissa Hortman, who was killed June 14 in what Gov. Tim Walz called a “politically motivated assassination,” was the only Democrat to side with Republicans in repealing health care for undocumented immigrants.

Pundits have said the governors’ values have not changed, but the cash flow has. All three states are facing budget shortfalls and pressure from D.C., including a federal bill that would cut funding to states covering undocumented immigrants.

More states could follow, with new enrollment rules already under review in Colorado, New York and Washington State.