At the June 27 Democratic presidential debate, all of the candidates endorsed giving government health benefits to illegal immigrants, but there was no discussion of exactly how that would work or how much it would cost. In addition, according to a subsequent survey by The Atlantic, Bernie Sanders, Kamala Harris, Elizabeth Warren, Cory Booker, and Julian Castro all would “provide full benefits to the undocumented.” On the other side of the spectrum just two Democratic hopefuls, Michael Bennet and Joe Biden, suggested only allowing illegal immigrants to buy unsubsidized insurance on the healthcare exchanges.
In response to these proposals, the Center for Immigration Studies has issued two new reports. The first report details the participation rate and cost of Medicaid usage by immigrants under existing policy, which offers noncitizens less access to the program compared to citizens. This second report explores the added costs of offering public health benefits to illegal immigrants.
For the first report, which looked at the cost of Medicaid usage under existing policy, CIS found that despite restrictions on access, immigrant individuals use Medicaid at the same 23 percent rate as native individuals. In addition, Immigrant children (of whom there are relatively few) appear less likely to use Medicaid than native children, but the difference is not statistically significant.
Alito rips race-based claim in high-stakes migrant protections case at Supreme Court
DHS scorches Pritzker’s ‘sanctuary’ state after child rapist on ICE detainer released
Trump talks to retirees in first outing since WHCA dinner shooting
GRAPHIC: Fed-up Scott Jennings Snaps, Takes Down Arrogant CNN Guest Who Gets Too Close for Comfort During Heated Debate
Shock Video: Suspicious K9 Had Cole Allen Locked Down Before Handler Pulled Him Away – Literally 2 Seconds Later Allen Made His Move
FBI, Secret Service probe Wisconsin brewery owner over free beer offer after alleged Trump killing attempt
MN governor race to replace Walz sees major shakeup as GOP contender ends campaign: ‘Don’t see a path’
Amazon explores ‘The Apprentice’ reboot with Trump Jr set for promotion: report
Damning Text Messages: Biden DOJ Lawyers Created Witch Hunt Targeting Catholic Nuns and Laughed About Hunting Them Down
FCC Chairman Clarifies Action Against ABC in Wake of Kimmel Controversy
Missing Republican state Senate candidate found dead in truck days after disappearance
Top school district put on notice as watchdog group threatens legal action over gender policy
Watch: Jasmine Crockett Claims She’s One of the Most ‘Powerful’ People in the Country, Slams Those Not ‘On the Same Level’
Time is running out for Virginia Supreme Court to decide on redistricting referendum
No Good Deeds Go Unpunished By Our European ‘Allies’ and Their Total Inaction
As for the cost, Immigrant adults are significantly more likely to enroll than native adults. An especially large and significant disparity exists among the elderly, probably because some immigrants are not eligible for Medicare. In general, immigrants from Latin America and immigrants without a college degree have above average rates of Medicaid enrollment, while enrollment rates for immigrants with a residency of at least 10 years do not substantially differ from rates among immigrants overall.
Native individuals cost insignificantly more than immigrant individuals on a per-capita basis. Among families, however, immigrants are significantly costlier, with an average Medicaid charge of $2,796 compared to $1,983 for native families. The costliest subgroup is Hispanic immigrant families at $4,411.
Alito rips race-based claim in high-stakes migrant protections case at Supreme Court
DHS scorches Pritzker’s ‘sanctuary’ state after child rapist on ICE detainer released
Trump talks to retirees in first outing since WHCA dinner shooting
GRAPHIC: Fed-up Scott Jennings Snaps, Takes Down Arrogant CNN Guest Who Gets Too Close for Comfort During Heated Debate
Shock Video: Suspicious K9 Had Cole Allen Locked Down Before Handler Pulled Him Away – Literally 2 Seconds Later Allen Made His Move
FBI, Secret Service probe Wisconsin brewery owner over free beer offer after alleged Trump killing attempt
MN governor race to replace Walz sees major shakeup as GOP contender ends campaign: ‘Don’t see a path’
Amazon explores ‘The Apprentice’ reboot with Trump Jr set for promotion: report
Damning Text Messages: Biden DOJ Lawyers Created Witch Hunt Targeting Catholic Nuns and Laughed About Hunting Them Down
FCC Chairman Clarifies Action Against ABC in Wake of Kimmel Controversy
Missing Republican state Senate candidate found dead in truck days after disappearance
Top school district put on notice as watchdog group threatens legal action over gender policy
Watch: Jasmine Crockett Claims She’s One of the Most ‘Powerful’ People in the Country, Slams Those Not ‘On the Same Level’
Time is running out for Virginia Supreme Court to decide on redistricting referendum
No Good Deeds Go Unpunished By Our European ‘Allies’ and Their Total Inaction
As for the second report, CIS estimates there are 4.9 million illegal immigrants who have incomes below 400 percent of the poverty threshold and who do not have insurance. This is the cutoff for premium subsidies. We run two scenarios: In Scenario 1, CIS estimates the cost if illegal immigrants receive ACA subsidies only. In Scenario 2, CIS examines the cost if the lowest-income illegal immigrants receive Medicaid, while the higher-income illegal immigrants receive ACA subsidies. Below is a graph that represents this data:
CIS’s analysis indicates that allowing uninsured, low-income illegal immigrants access to these programs would likely cost taxpayers around $10 billion per year, assuming many chose not to enroll, with costs potentially rising as high as $23 billion.
The report concludes:
Alito rips race-based claim in high-stakes migrant protections case at Supreme Court
DHS scorches Pritzker’s ‘sanctuary’ state after child rapist on ICE detainer released
Trump talks to retirees in first outing since WHCA dinner shooting
GRAPHIC: Fed-up Scott Jennings Snaps, Takes Down Arrogant CNN Guest Who Gets Too Close for Comfort During Heated Debate
Shock Video: Suspicious K9 Had Cole Allen Locked Down Before Handler Pulled Him Away – Literally 2 Seconds Later Allen Made His Move
FBI, Secret Service probe Wisconsin brewery owner over free beer offer after alleged Trump killing attempt
MN governor race to replace Walz sees major shakeup as GOP contender ends campaign: ‘Don’t see a path’
Amazon explores ‘The Apprentice’ reboot with Trump Jr set for promotion: report
Damning Text Messages: Biden DOJ Lawyers Created Witch Hunt Targeting Catholic Nuns and Laughed About Hunting Them Down
FCC Chairman Clarifies Action Against ABC in Wake of Kimmel Controversy
Missing Republican state Senate candidate found dead in truck days after disappearance
Top school district put on notice as watchdog group threatens legal action over gender policy
Watch: Jasmine Crockett Claims She’s One of the Most ‘Powerful’ People in the Country, Slams Those Not ‘On the Same Level’
Time is running out for Virginia Supreme Court to decide on redistricting referendum
No Good Deeds Go Unpunished By Our European ‘Allies’ and Their Total Inaction
Numbers aside, the fact that presidential candidates are advocating spending billions of dollars on people who are in the country illegally is significant in its own right. It suggests that allowing in large numbers of less-educated workers will inevitably generate significant political pressure to provide them access to social programs. If there is significant political pressure to provide coverage to people in the country illegally, it seems almost certain that over time pressure will grow to provide healthcare to low-wage guest workers and other “temporary” immigrants as well. The high cost of providing healthcare to less-educated workers who earn modest wages is a reminder that tolerating illegal immigration or allowing such workers into the country legally is likely to create a significant burden for taxpayers.
This article is from two recent reports done by the Center for Immigration Studies. You can find the first report, here, and the second report, here.
Story cited here.
