Illegal immigration is costing American hospitals billions of dollars in unpaid medical bills, a new report from Republicans on the House Homeland Security Committee found.
The report, which asserts that Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas should be investigated over his handling of the border crisis, lists the projected costs to the healthcare systems of several states.
“Hospital and emergency room care for illegal aliens is one of the most significant expenses,” the report says, adding that “this has led to significant costs for hospitals because providers are often not reimbursed for these services.”
“Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton wrote that his state alone was required to pay anywhere between $62- 90 million per year to cover illegal aliens under its Emergency Medicaid program,” according to the report. “Between 2006-2008, uncompensated costs borne by Texas state hospitals providing care to illegal immigrants ranged from $597 million to $717 million. That’s as much as $1.03 billion in May 2023 dollars.”
“Data released by the state of Florida … showed that illegal aliens cost hospitals about $312 million in FY21, with hospitals only receiving about $103 million in reimbursements,” the report continued. Meanwhile, a hospital in Yuma, Arizona, provided $26 million in uncompensated care to illegal immigrants.
The report cites a recent Politico article about a program in Illinois, which states:
A state program that offers health benefits to undocumented adults is ballooning. When it was started a few years ago, lawmakers estimated it to run from $2 million to $4 million. Now health officials say the state needs more than $1.1 billion to keep it running because the number of participants far exceeds what the state had planned on.
The committee’s report comes as Chicago and New York City struggle to pay for and procure housing for thousands of foreign nationals who’ve crossed our border. The Chicago City Council recently passed a controversial $51 million funding measure to provide foreign nationals with housing and food.
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About 50 places of worship in New York City will now be used to house foreign nationals who’ve recently entered the country. New York City Mayor Eric Adams has even suggested turning to private homeowners in an attempt to increase housing capabilities for foreign nationals.
As cities struggle to handle the influx, the Biden administration recently announced that they will increase the number of foreign nationals the United States will accept via the CBP One App, a digital platform that allows migrants to schedule asylum appointments with Border Patrol before reaching the southern border.
Estimates have found that illegal immigration costs United States taxpayers approximately $151 billion every year.
A poll from CBS News found that 63% of Americans disapprove of Biden’s handling of the United States border, while just 37% say that they approve.