Hunt for 'illegal aliens' on Medicaid comes up empty handed

Last fall the Trump administration sent to the states names of hundreds of thousands of individual Medicaid enrollees thought to be in the US illegally.  This was one part of the federal crackdown on, using the administration’s terminology, “illegal aliens."  The requested review was expected to identify the extent of the undocumented who were illegally receiving Medicaid benefits.  The specific review request came from the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

KFF Health News, a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues, obtained the data from five states involved in the review months after the review request.

It is important to recognize that the law authorizing Medicaid and the closely related Children’s Health Insurance Program states it is only available to US citizens and lawful immigrants.

Five states submitted the data from their investigations to KFF Health News. Their data is as follows:

States Records Examined	Coverage	Terminated
Pennsylvania & Colorado	79,000	0
Texas	28,000	77
Ohio	65,000	260
Utah	8,000	42
Total	180,000	379

The data above submitted to KFF Health News by the five states indicates that 1/5th of 1% of the enrollee records examined were terminated.

KFF also reported that “Leonardo Cuello, a research professor at Georgetown University’s Center for Children and Families, said the reviews ordered by the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services were unneeded because states check immigration status when people sign up.”

Republicans have falsely claimed for years that Medicaid is burdened with “fraud, waste, and abuse” to justify cutting Medicaid as part of Trump’s OBBB (One Big Beautiful Bill). That tax cut has rewarded the top 1% and their corporate allies with billions of dollars that have further weakened the middle class and added further trillions to the national debt.

The truth is Medicaid provides health coverage to 1 in every 5 people across the country, at all stages of life. The program pays for 41 percent of births in the United States, covers all medically necessary treatments, screenings, and services for the over 30 million children enrolled in Medicaid, and pays more than half of the cost of long-term services and supports for seniors and people with disabilities.The vast bulk of this protection disappears in 2027.  Conveniently after the 2026 midterm election.

As the newly released data shows, Medicaid is not a scam; the Republican transfer of wealth from the 98% to the top 1% Is.