Chairman Arrington Requests CBO Analysis on the Exploding Cost of Medicaid Spending for Illegal Aliens Under Biden-Harris Border Crisis

Chairman Arrington Requests CBO Analysis on the Exploding Cost of Medicaid Spending for Illegal Aliens Under Biden-Harris Border Crisis

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington (R-TX) sent a letter to Congressional Budget Office (CBO) Director Phillip Swagel asking the CBO to analyze the cost to taxpayers of "Border Czar" Vice President Kamala Harris's open border on the Medicaid program.

Specifically, the letter calls on CBO to produce data on Medicaid spending on emergency services for illegal aliens from Fiscal Year 2017 to Fiscal Year 2023, allowing American taxpayers to understand the true cost of the Biden-Harris Administration's open border crisis on Medicaid.

While illegal aliens are typically barred from receiving most federal benefits, including Medicaid, the program does cover emergency services for illegal aliens, allowing those here illegally, including those who are violent criminals and on terrorist watchlists.

Chairman Arrington seeks to highlight the fiscal and human cost of the border crisis, as the surge of 8.1 million crossings under the Biden-Harris Administration has fueled our $35 trillion and counting national debt and led to skyrocketing levels of violent crime and fentanyl overdoses.

Chairman Arrington requested that the CBO:

1. Produce an analysis of the annual federal Medicaid outlays for emergency services for illegal aliens for FY2017 through FY2023.
   
   
2. Produce estimates of total state outlays for emergency services for illegal aliens for FY2017 through FY2023.

Background:

• To remove incentives for illegal migration and safeguard taxpayer dollars, President Clinton signed into law the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA) which barred "non-qualified aliens" from accessing most federal benefits, including Medicaid.
  
  
  • Notably, PRWORA included a statement of national policy that there "is a compelling government interest to remove the incentive for illegal immigration provided by the availability of public benefits."
    
    
• Under the law, "non-qualified aliens" are individuals who do not fall within nine enumerated categories of eligibility. Illegal aliens without documentation are considered "non-qualified aliens" under PRWORA and thus statutorily barred from receiving most federal benefits.
  
  
• Despite PRWORA's limitation on illegal aliens receiving federally funded Medicaid benefits, such aliens may receive Medicaid benefits for emergency services. Specifically, Medicaid is required to cover treatment for illegal aliens who would otherwise qualify for Medicaid if not for their immigration status insofar as such services are necessary to treat an emergency medical condition.

The Bottom Line:

Our unprecedented and unsustainable $35 trillion national debt cannot handle millions of illegal immigrants flooding across the Southwest border to tap into benefits financed by hardworking Americans' tax dollars. House Budget Committee Republicans are leading the charge to fully understand the budgetary effects of the surge in migration and the impact on critical federal health care programs such as Medicaid, which must be safeguarded for the most vulnerable American citizens.