The budget deadlock that shuttered the federal government has spawned a political argument over whether or not Democrats want to provide free health care to noncitizens in the country illegally.
U.S. Rep. Lloyd Smucker, the Republican representing Lancaster County and half of York County, made that argument in a newsletter sent to constituents on Thursday, criticizing Democrats for choosing “political theater” when voting against a GOP proposal to keep the government running temporarily.
“Liberals,” he added, “demanded taxpayer-funded free healthcare for illegal immigrants.”
Smucker, in a bulleted list of accusations against the opposition, went on to say that Democrats wanted to cut federal funding for rural hospitals and clinics, eliminate the stricter Medicaid work requirements enacted by Congress in the summer, and add $1.5 trillion in new government spending over the next decade.
The “free health care for illegal immigrants” line is being repeated by GOP lawmakers, from Vice President JD Vance and House Speaker Mike Johnson to rank-and-file members representing districts across the country, including many from Pennsylvania.
But is it true? Are Democrats withholding votes needed to reopen the government because they want to give free health care to people who are in the United States illegally?
More than a dozen mainstream news organizations investigated the issue and concluded that the GOP’s line of attack is baseless.
PolitiFact, which is run by the Poynter Institute, a journalism research and education center in St. Petersburg, Florida, offered this assessment:
“Immigrants in the U.S. illegally are largely ineligible for federally funded health care programs Medicare and Medicaid, and they cannot seek coverage in the Affordable Care Act marketplace or apply for subsidies. The Democrats’ budget proposal would not change that. The Democrats want to restore access to certain health care programs to legal immigrants who will lose access under the Republican tax and spending law — among other measures aimed at making Medicaid and Affordable Care Act insurance plans easier to keep.”
And FactCheck.org, which is run out of the Annenberg Public Policy Center in Philadelphia, concluded:
“The Democrats have proposed restoring health care for ‘lawfully present’ immigrants, but not for immigrants living in the country illegally, who are prohibited by law from receiving federally funded coverage.”
Various news outlets, including The New York Times, The Associated Press, NBC News, CNN, and ABC News, drew similar conclusions.
The details behind the claims
When a reporter noted to Smucker’s spokesman, Eric Reath, via email that the congressman’s newsletter included information deemed false or misleading by other news organizations, Smucker’s office stood by its claims.
Reath pointed to a letter from the Congressional Budget Office indicating Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” was estimated to remove roughly 1.4 million people “who do not meet citizenship and immigration status requirements for Medicaid enrollment but who would be covered under current law in programs funded by the states.” An alternative stopgap funding bill introduced by Democrats would have repealed that part of the “Big Beautiful Bill,” specifically the provision restricting certain non-citizens’ eligibility for health care.
The homepage of House Speaker Johnson’s website provides a link to the text of Democrats’ stopgap funding alternative, which was rejected by the House in September. The Democrats sought to repeal Title VII, Section 71301 of the “Big Beautiful Bill,” which restricted certain non-citizens’ eligibility for health care.
The Congressional Budget Office, at the request of Senate Democrats, looked into the budgetary effects of some of the Obamacare-related changes Democrats want. By restoring access to non-citizens who are in the country legally or pending asylum or refugee decisions, the nonpartisan office found that repealing that section “would increase deficits by $91.4 billion over the 2026–2035 period. CBO estimates that the number of people with insurance would increase by 1.0 million in 2035.“
Reath also shared a memo from the Trump administration that explained other changes Democrats were pushing, including the reinstatement of the program that compensates health centers for providing care to non-citizens who are illegally in the country. The memo also said Democrats want to bring back a loophole that allowed states to use federal Medicaid funds to provide care to undocumented individuals.
So who’s right?
The Republican charge that Democrats want to provide free health care to illegal immigrants is an exaggeration. The Democrats’ alternative stopgap seeks to restore benefits to non-citizens who are in the country legally.
But the complex nature of the Medicaid program and the multiple ways the federal government provides funding to health care providers make it almost certain that some money would indirectly cover the costs of caring for non-citizens who are here illegally.
The (other) last word
Reath concluded his response to the reporter with, “Servicemembers and hardworking federal employees will not receive their paychecks under this Democrat-caused government shutdown. Where’s (the) reporting on that?”
It’s true that service members aren’t paid during government shutdowns.
They did receive a paycheck on Oct. 1, according to the National Military Family Association. That pay was for the last pay period in September, when the government was open. If the shutdown extends beyond Oct. 14, then service members will miss their next paycheck.