Matt Margolis writes for PJMedia.com about a little-discussed shift in Democrats’ policy priorities.
Democrats spent years insisting that providing free healthcare to illegal immigrants was a moral imperative. They haven’t exactly kept that a secret. During the 2020 Democratic presidential primaries, every single candidate promised their healthcare plans would cover healthcare for illegals. Now, though, they’ve shut down the federal government to protect funding streams for these programs—but are pretending that’s not what they are after.
Nevertheless, we know what their objectives are. But their crusade to give free healthcare to illegals has hit a bit of a snag. Faced with exploding costs and healthcare systems on the brink of collapse, blue state governors are quietly pulling the plug on their own sacred cow.
According to a report from National Review, Gavin Newsom in California, Tim Walz in Minnesota, and JB Pritzker in Illinois have all rolled back or frozen Medicaid programs for illegal immigrants in recent months after discovering the obvious: it’s simply not sustainable to keep offering taxpayer-funded health insurance to illegal immigrants.
Walz previously celebrated Minnesota’s expansion in 2023 as a major achievement. Now he’s consenting to cuts because the state is staring down a $6 billion deficit by 2028.
The numbers tell the story Democrats don’t want you to hear.
California alone spends $8.5 billion annually providing Medi-Cal to illegal residents. Around 1.6 million illegal immigrants enrolled after Newsom expanded eligibility, joining the roughly 15 million Californians already in the program. Illinois saw its immigrant health benefits program balloon to over 30,000 enrollees in just three years, costing $682 million in 2024 and contributing to a state deficit of $3.2 billion.
But the financial burden is only part of the problem. The influx of illegal immigrant patients has created severe shortages in healthcare access for everyone. In California, about 40% of adults couldn’t see a doctor for urgent needs within state-mandated timeframes in 2024. Specialist care is even worse.
