Mike Johnson: Democrats Push to Restore Medicaid for Illegal Immigrant

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   Sharlee01posted 24 hours ago

   House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has accused Democrats of being dishonest in their denials that they want to restore healthcare benefits for illegal immigrants.
   
   “The idea that U.S. taxpayers should fund benefits for illegal aliens is simply unacceptable,” Johnson said Wednesday.
   
   Johnson spoke with Fox News Digital on the first full day of the government shutdown, shortly after Senate Democrats rejected the GOP’s proposal to continue funding federal agencies at fiscal year 2025 levels through November 21.
   
   A major point of contention has been Republicans’ claims that Democrats are seeking to undo GOP changes to Medicaid that prevent illegal immigrants from receiving benefits. Democrats have strongly denied this, calling the accusation false.
   
   GOP Claims Democrats Could Risk Shutdown to Restore ‘Illegal Immigrant Healthcare’
   
   Republicans, led by Johnson, and Democrats, led by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, are trading blame for the current government shutdown.
   
   Johnson highlighted that Democrats’ own counter-proposal for federal funding would have fully reversed recent Medicaid reforms included in the “One Big, Beautiful Bill” (OBBB), signed into law on July 4.
   
   “What we aimed to do is strengthen Medicaid,” Johnson said. “A key part of that was ensuring that the more than 1 million illegal aliens previously receiving benefits were no longer eligible. When Democrats talk about repealing the OBBB healthcare provisions, they’re talking about that and the rural hospital fund. We put $50 billion into supporting rural hospitals, and removing that would cause real harm.”
   
   Currently, people in the U.S. without legal status are not eligible for federal benefits like Medicaid. Democrats insist that their goal is to protect healthcare for Americans and extend enhanced Obamacare subsidies, which are set to expire at the end of the year.
   
   Republicans’ bill also added a 20-hour-per-week work requirement for certain able-bodied Medicaid recipients, even U.S. citizens—a measure Democrats opposed.
   
   Democrats Push Back
   
   House Minority Leader Jeffries told CNN, “Taxpayer dollars cannot fund Medicaid, Medicare, or the Affordable Care Act for undocumented immigrants. Not a single Democrat has sought to change that law. Our goal is to preserve healthcare for Americans, lower costs, and prevent these cuts.”
   
   Still, 14 states and Washington, D.C.—which combine state and federal funding for Medicaid—allow some healthcare coverage for residents without legal status. These programs are mostly in states that expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
   
   Emergency Medicaid also provides federal funding for immediate, critical care for people who meet eligibility except for immigration status. However, the OBBB reduces some federal dollars to hospitals that provide these services.
   
   The GOP’s legislation also tightens eligibility rules for Medicaid, excluding certain asylum-seekers and refugees who might have qualified under previous rules.
   
   Background and Biden’s Role
   
   Republicans argue that millions of people who entered illegally were granted at least temporary legal status under President Biden and should not receive the same benefits as legal immigrants—a point Johnson reinforced in his interview.
   
   “President Biden added these individuals to the rolls and kept the border open for four years,” Johnson said. “They received taxpayer-funded benefits.”
   
   While Biden did impose stricter asylum and border rules later in his term, the loosening of Trump-era restrictions in 2021 contributed to record numbers of illegal entries.
   
   “Illegal aliens couldn’t get Medicaid before July 4,” Johnson added. “That changed only because we passed the OBBB, which Democrats all opposed. Now they want to reverse it—that’s just plain and simple.”

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   Sharlee01posted 21 hours ago

   CNN's Jake Tapper confronted House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., on Wednesday about Medicaid funding for "noncitizens," as the Democratic lawmaker argued his party was trying to save healthcare.
   
   Tapper asked Jeffries about the extension of Obamacare subsidies after the government shut down on Wednesday when Democrats and Republicans in the Senate failed to reach a spending agreement before the end of fiscal year 2025 on Sept. 30.
   
   The CNN host said Republicans "characterize it as you want to give health insurance to undocumented immigrants. I understand that's not really an accurate depiction." Jeffries responded, "It's a lie."
   
   "It's a lie, but what you support does bring back funding for emergency Medicaid to hospitals, some of which does pay for undocumented immigrants and people who don't have health insurance. And also, there is this provision, and it's not about undocumented immigrants. It's about people with asylum seekers and people with temporary protected status, et cetera, et cetera, but about their ability to get Medicaid. So they're noncitizens. They're not undocumented. They're not illegal. Why even include that in a bill, knowing that they're going to seize right upon that and use that to message? I understand that when you retake the House, you can get whatever you want passed, but at this point?" Tapper asked.
   
   Jeffries then quickly diverted ---:

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      Readmikenowposted 2 hours agoin reply to this

      Shar,
      
      That part of the law that demands illegals get emergency care is unreal.  The democrat states have decided that everything from heart transplants, to dental care, to treatment for the flu to gender transition surgery are labeled as emergencies in the blue states.  This is clearly tax payer funded health care for illegal aliens.
      
      Our tax dollars are going to cover this hoax.
      
      California Paying for Illegal Migrants to Gender Transition Sparks Fury
      
      Medi-Cal had been available to those age 25 and under, or 50 and over, who met the income and residency thresholds for some time, but starting Monday it was extended to all unregistered migrants, with an estimated 700,000 more people becoming eligible.
      
      A 2022 California state memo, viewed by online news outlet The Daily Caller, makes it clear that "gender affirming care is a covered Medi-Cal benefit when medically necessary." This matches advice from the Transgender Law Center, a transgender advocacy group, which in a recent publication on gender reassignment surgery said: "Despite what many Medi-Cal recipients have heard, Medi-Cal will cover some procedures."
      
      On January 2, The Daily Caller published excerpts of the memo on receiving gender-affirming health care: "Gender affirming care is a covered Medi-Cal benefit when medically necessary. Requests for gender affirming care should be from specialists experienced in providing culturally competent care to transgender and gender diverse individuals and should use nationally recognized guidelines.
      
      https://www.newsweek.com/california-pay … ry-1858188

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         Willowarborposted 2 hours agoin reply to this

         Literally none of this is true... What California decides to do with its funds collected through state tax is an issue between their governance and their voters....
         
         Again, moderation needs to look at the misinformation and disinformation being read on this forum..
         
         And anyone saying they completely agree with this post.... Should put some kind of fact behind it...

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   Willowarborposted 2 hours ago

   U.S. law prohibits federal health care benefits for undocumented immigrants.

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4. 62

   Willowarborposted 2 hours ago

   Misinformation is running rampant on this forum....

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5. 62

   Willowarborposted 13 minutes ago

   ONCE  AGAIN
   
   The Democrats CR EXPLICITLY excludes illegal aliens....
   
   Trump thinks people are  stupid and can’t read good...
   
   
   
   MODERATION REALLY NEEDS TO LOOK INTO THE CONTINUAL POSTING OF DISINFORMATION

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6. 62

   Willowarborposted 6 minutes ago

   ONCE  AGAIN
   
   The Democrats CR EXPLICITLY excludes illegal aliens....
   
   Trump thinks people are  stupid and can’t read good...
   
   
   
   MODERATION REALLY NEEDS TO LOOK INTO THE CONTINUAL POSTING OF DISINFORMATION
   
   There are an estimated 1.4 million people considered “lawfully present”in the United States...including the  DACA program beneficiaries, who came to the U.S. illegally as children; people who have Temporary Protected Status; and refugees and people seeking asylum who are still going through the legal process. Republicans are seeking to prohibit Medicaid or ACA eligibility for those groups.
   
   They are NOT “undocumented” or “illegal” immigrants. The government knows who they are, and many are going through the process of seeking official legal status or green cards. Among other things, they are not unlawful border-crossers who have been flagged for deportation....
   
   AMERICANS ARE SMARTER THAN THIS REGIME THINKS WE AREN'T BUYING THE SCRAMBLED FACTS

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   Sharlee01posted 5 minutes ago

   FACTS  as presented in the budget--- If enacted, these changes could have expanded access to federal health care programs for a broader group of immigrants, including those with temporary legal status. This includes the millions awaiting asylum hearings. It’s not a direct check to every undocumented or temporarily authorized immigrant, but it funnels federal dollars indirectly through programs, grants, and services. Hospitals, nonprofits, schools, and local governments receive federal funding to cover the costs of healthcare, housing, education, and food for these populations. In effect, taxpayer money is still supporting migrants, even though it isn’t handed out as a direct cash payment.  Minor research was necessary to obtain these facts.  This is just another backdoor Democratic grift.
   
   In the recent budget negotiations, Senate Democrats proposed a Continuing Resolution (CR) that included provisions to reverse certain eligibility restrictions for Medicaid, Medicare, and Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies. Specifically, they aimed to reinstate eligibility for these programs for a broader group of immigrants, including those with temporary legal status. This proposal was outlined in Division B, Subtitle E, Sec. 2141 of S.2882, the Democrat CR, which sought to repeal key sections in Subtitle B of Title VII in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) that had limited access to government health care benefits for certain immigrants.
   
   Key Provisions in the Democrats' Budget  Proposal:
   
   Medicaid Eligibility: Sec. 71109 of the OBBBA changed immigration terminology to narrow Medicaid eligibility to U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents, certain Cuban/Haitian entrants, and residents under the Compact of Free Association. The Democrats' CR sought to repeal this change, thereby expanding Medicaid eligibility.
   The Heritage Foundation
   
   Medicare Coverage: Sec. 71201 of the OBBBA applied the same Medicaid eligibility restrictions to Medicare, narrowing coverage. The Democrats' CR aimed to reverse this provision.
   The Heritage Foundation
   
   ACA Premium Subsidies: Sec. 71301/71302 of the OBBBA permitted premium tax credits only for certain individuals and disallowed them during periods of Medicaid ineligibility due to alien status. The Democrats' CR proposed to repeal these restrictions, potentially allowing a broader group of immigrants to qualify for ACA subsidies.
   The Heritage Foundation

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