WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), Roger Wicker (R-MS), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), and John Barrasso (R-WY) introduced the Protect Medicaid Act to ensure the long-term integrity of Medicaid by preventing liberal states like California from forcing American citizens in other states to subsidize Medicaid benefits for illegal immigrants. The bill prohibits federal money from being spent on administering state Medicaid benefits paid for by American citizens to noncitizens. If a state chooses to give Medicaid benefits to illegal residents, the bill ensures that state does so entirely on its own dime, without any costs to taxpayers in other states. U.S. Representative Richard Hudson (R-NC-09) introduced the companion legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives.
“Working as a doctor in California, I saw that free health care is a magnet for illegal immigration,” said Dr. Cassidy. “We should focus on making America healthy again instead of straining our medical system and burdening American taxpayers. Attempting to provide free health care to the world is not sustainable. Compassion that cannot be sustained is not compassion.”
“The American people have made it clear that they want their hard-earned tax dollars to work for them, not those who are in our country illegally. I’m proud to once again support this bill that ensures Medicaid funds only benefit American taxpayers and sends a strong message to sanctuary states that they need to foot the bill if they want to extend Medicaid to illegal immigrants,” said Senator Hyde-Smith.
“Handouts from Democrats have attracted millions of illegal immigrants to come and take advantage of free health care paid for by American taxpayers,” said Senator Barrasso. “Our bill keeps liberal states from forcing hardworking Americans to foot the bill for Medicaid for illegal immigrants. Senate Republicans are committed to working with President Trump to end radical policies that fail to secure our border and keep our communities safe.”
“Providing taxpayer-funded Medicaid to illegal immigrants is against the law and further incentivizes more illegal crossings at our border,” said Representative Hudson. “Worse, it hurts elderly, disabled, and vulnerable Americans who depend on the program. We must stop liberal states from forcing American taxpayers to foot the bill for illegals’ healthcare costs and ensure we are taking care of our citizens.”
Federal law already bars illegal immigrants from receiving Medicaid, but states like California get around federal law by using complex budgeting gimmicks to extend Medicaid benefits to illegal immigrants.
This means Medicaid patients have a harder time getting appointments and receiving care. And like every state, California faces a shortage of primary care providers. As of December 2024, the state needed 971 additional primary care providers to meet the current need. California has 633 designated Primary Care Health Professional Shortage Areas, which is by far the highest in the country. The next highest state has 373 shortage areas.
The Protect Medicaid Act also requires the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) to review and report on:
- How states that provide Medicaid services to illegal immigrants keep federal and state dollars separate.
- Whether states providing health benefits to illegal immigrants use gimmicks that rip off the federal government, like provider taxes and intergovernmental transfers, to launder federal dollars to offset the cost of providing benefits to this population.
- Whether people in the country illegally benefit from covered outpatient drugs purchased under the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program and the 340B program, and whether this impacts the prices American citizens pay.
Background
In 2024, Cassidy discussed the many issues associated with Medicare for illegal immigrants on Fox News’ America’s Newsroom. Watch the segment here.
Cassidy introduced this bill in the 116th and 118th Congress to prevent taxpayer resources from paying for free health care for illegal immigrants.
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