From Fox News: The Trump administration is planning to claw back over $1 billion in federal Medicaid dollars it says are being spent by blue states on healthcare for illegal immigrants, including some with violent criminal records for murder and rape.
A preliminary audit by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services found that, over the last few years, mostly during 2024 and 2025, California; Washington, D.C.; Illinois; Washington; Colorado; and Oregon improperly spent a combined $1,351,204,127 in federal Medicaid funds to help pay for healthcare for illegal immigrants.
While federal Medicaid dollars are supposed to be prohibited broadly from being used to cover healthcare for illegal immigrants, they can be used by states for emergency treatment regardless of a patient’s citizenship or immigration status.
States can also legally cover health insurance for illegal immigrants as long as it is only done with state tax dollars. But, according to some experts, Democrats are utilizing loopholes in the federal laws that allow them to provide comprehensive health benefits to illegal immigrants.
Dr. Mehmet Oz, administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), laid out all the facts in the following announcement on Friday:
Buckle up for this one.
Based on our initial set of audits, more than $1B of federal taxpayer dollars were being spent on funding Medicaid for illegal immigrants. And my team is getting it back.
Some want to deny that illegal immigrants are receiving Medicaid. Others insist it’s illegal for Medicaid to cover illegal immigrants. And others accurately point out that hospitals can provide emergency services to illegal immigrants under the program.
We can all agree on this: rooting out fraud, waste, and abuse is essential to protecting this program for the most vulnerable. It’s also one of the Trump Administration’s top priorities.
Let me lay down the facts:
The truth is that federal law is supposed to prohibit federal Medicaid dollars broadly from being used to cover illegal immigrants. It does permit states to use Medicaid dollars for emergency treatment, regardless of patients’ citizenship or immigration status. States can also legally build Medicaid programs for illegal immigrants using their own state tax dollars, so long as no federal tax dollars are used.
But that didn’t stop Democrats from going even further by breaking federal law to give illegal immigrants federal Medicaid dollars meant for American citizens.
Earlier this year, the CMS team began auditing state Medicaid programs to ensure they were following the law and not spending any federal tax dollars on illegal immigrants outside of emergency Medicaid. What we found was shocking.
In a preliminary review of 6 states, we found those states improperly using federal tax dollars for their allegedly state-funded program and providing coverage to individuals, including some with criminal records of murder and assault.
Those states are:
CA – $1,310,032,549
DC – $2,114,628
IL – $29,778,645
WA – $2,367,194
CO – $1,506,743
OR – $5,404,368We notified the states, and many have begun refunding the money. But what if we had never asked?
Whether willful or not, the states’ conduct highlights a terrifying reality: American taxpayers have been footing the bill for illegal immigrants’ Medicaid coverage, despite many Democrats and the media insisting otherwise.
Democrats are demanding the repeal of the President’s Working Families Tax Cuts legislation in order for their votes to reopen the government. This law wisely strengthened our ability to limit federal dollars from being spent on health care for illegal immigrants. Until Democrats explicitly drop that demand, they’re blatantly holding the government hostage over giving Medicaid to illegal immigrants.
WATCH BELOW:
Buckle up for this one.
Based on our initial set of audits, more than $1B of federal taxpayer dollars were being spent on funding Medicaid for illegal immigrants. And my team is getting it back.
Some want to deny that illegal immigrants are receiving Medicaid. Others insist… pic.twitter.com/aF45ttsofF
— DrOzCMS (@DrOzCMS) October 31, 2025
Key Trump agency vows to claw back over $1B benefiting illegals in blue states: ‘Won’t tolerate it’ https://t.co/CB5LMUdDk9
— Fox News (@FoxNews) October 31, 2025
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