Cassidy, Blackburn, Wicker unveil Protect Medicaid Act

U.S. Sens. Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), and Roger Wicker (R-MS) on Jan. 11 proposed legislation that would prevent federal money from being spent on administering state Medicaid benefits for unauthorized immigrants.

If a state chooses to give Medicaid benefits to illegal residents, the Protect Medicaid Act, S. 3578, would ensure that state does so on its own, without any costs to taxpayers in other states, according to a bill summary provided by the lawmakers.

“Medicaid for migrants is a magnet for more illegal immigration,” said Sen. Cassidy, who sponsored the bill. “Taking care of the most vulnerable Americans should be our priority. Attempting to provide health care to everyone around the globe for free is not possible or feasible. Compassion that cannot be sustained is not compassion.”

If enacted, S. 3578 also would require the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 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, the summary says.

Additionally, the OIG review and report would look at whether states providing health benefits to illegal immigrants use “gimmicks that rip off the federal government,” such as provider taxes and intergovernmental transfers, to launder federal dollars to offset the cost of providing benefits to this population, among other items, states the summary.

“Tennesseans and the American people do not want their tax dollars subsidizing Medicaid for illegal immigrants,” said Sen. Blackburn, the lead original cosponsor of S. 3578. “Not only is it unfair to hard-working citizens, but it incentivizes more illegal immigration and puts the care of millions of Americans on the back burner.”

Sen. Wicker, another original cosponsor of the bill, noted that there’s a crisis at America’s southern border  and the solution cannot be to reward bad behavior.

“Mississippians are already feeling the pain in their own pocketbooks,” Sen. Wicker said. “The last thing they want is to subsidize an illegal immigrant’s journey to the United States.”

The measure has been referred for consideration to the U.S. Senate Finance Committee.