Karoline Leavitt shuts down reporter's claim illegal immigrants don’t benefit from Medicaid

WASHINGTON, DC: White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, during her press briefing on Friday, October 3, fired back at a reporter who claimed that illegal immigrants weren't benefiting from Medicaid, a taxpayer-funded healthcare coverage.

The 28-year-old also slammed the Democrats, whose tenure saw the Medicaid spending for illegal immigrants nearly triple.

Karoline Leavitt says $9.1B went to emergency services for illegal immigrants

The Democrats claimed on Wednesday that they backed the government shutdown to push for extended ACA tax credits. But the Republicans argued their real goal was to expand Medicaid for illegal immigrants.

Leavitt said that the Democrats’ counter-proposal to the Republicans’ continuing resolution (CR) would require Medicaid to pay more for illegal immigrants’ medical care. 

“Are you denying that Medicaid money has never gone to illegal aliens in the United States of America? … [The Democrats] inserted a provision to undo a provision in the working families tax cut, the 'one big, beautiful bill', that ended taxpayer-funded healthcare benefits for illegal aliens,” Leavitt said.

“The Democrats' proposal would require Medicaid to pay more to provide care for illegal aliens than Medicaid does for American patients who are disabled, elderly, or children. And this bill would’ve also allowed California to continue a gimmick that funds Medicaid for illegals’ programs. Those are the things that we ended, the Trump administration ended with the passage of the 'one big, beautiful bill,'” she noted.

Leavitt highlighted that the Medicaid spending for illegal immigrants nearly tripled under Joe Biden's administration, when illegal border crossings also reached record-highs by surpassing two and three million encounters in a single fiscal year.

Medicaid costs for illegal immigrants’ emergency care apparently rose 142% in the fiscal year 2024.

“That’s $9.1 billion taxpayer dollars that were going to emergency services for illegals. Between President Trump's last full fiscal year in his first administration and Joe Biden’s last full fiscal year, Medicaid spending on emergency services for illegal immigrants nearly tripled. There was an increase of 196% between 2020 and 2024,” she added.

Hospitals were overwhelmed with illegal immigrants

In 2023, Southern California healthcare workers reported that hospitals were overwhelmed with illegal immigrants, leading to longer wait times for patients who are American citizens.

Denver Health CEO Donna Lynne reported that 8,000 illegal immigrants made 20,000 health visits that year, resulting in over  $10 million in unpaid medical services.

“So when an illegal alien goes to the emergency room, who’s paying for it? The American taxpayer,” Leavitt stressed. 

Democrats' plan to expand Medicaid for illegal immigrants

According to Section 2141 of the Democrats’ proposed CR, the counter-proposal seeks to repeal Title VII, Section B, of the "big, beautiful bill," which pertains to Medicare and efforts to curb waste, fraud, and abuse in the system, including the restriction of “Alien Medicaid eligibility” in Sec 71109. 

House Speaker Mike Johnson said the Democrats’ proposal would cost taxpayers $200 billion by funding benefits for illegal immigrants and reversing GOP reforms targeting Medicaid loopholes in California.

He also noted that states like California, Illinois, and Minnesota all expanded their state healthcare coverage to include illegal immigrants, leading to a major financial burden.