If you watched CNN this week, you’ve probably seen clips of host Kaitlan Collins “fact-checking” Republican lawmakers on the government shutdown.
These exchanges follow the same pattern. The Republican says that Democrats shut the government down because they want to give free healthcare to illegal immigrants. Collins <a href="https://x.com/kaitlancollins/status/1973573706602652035" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tells them</a> that federal Medicaid funding can’t go to illegals. They start talking about Obamacare, and she says that illegal immigrants have <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2025/10/01/politics/video/kaitlan-collins-mike-johnson-fact-check-ldndigvid" target="_blank" rel="noopener">never been eligible</a> for Obamacare subsidies.
In all these clips, Collins seems confident while Republicans seem like they’re trying to talk their way out of the exchange. They’re making wild accusations, while she’s simply stating facts.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
I questioned Speaker Mike Johnson tonight on the claim being made by Republicans that Democrats want to give free health care to “illegal aliens” in the government shutdown fight. <a href="https://t.co/sjvnQwxTKN">pic.twitter.com/sjvnQwxTKN</a>
— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) <a href="https://twitter.com/kaitlancollins/status/1973210626853130329?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 1, 2025</a></blockquote>
Here’s the problem: Collins is wrong.
Republicans seem like they’re talking in circles because this is an incredibly complex issue, and Democrats are trying to make it even more complicated. Collins, like Democrats and other members of the media, is talking about what the law says. Republicans are talking about what actually happens.
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It’s true that federal Medicaid dollars can’t go to illegals. And it’s true that illegals aren’t eligible for Obamacare subsidies. But it’s also true that federal Medicaid dollars do go to illegal immigrants, and illegal immigrants do enroll in taxpayer-subsidized Obamacare plans.
Facts are stubborn things. And the fact is that the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) imposed safeguards to stop illegal immigrants from improperly accessing federal healthcare benefits. The fact is, the Democrats’ funding bill would roll back those safeguards.
That’s the shutdown fight in a nutshell. But, if you want all the facts so you can really school your liberal buddy — or if you’re a Republican congressman who just booked an interview with Kaitlan Collins — here’s a crash course in the healthcare battle that has ground Washington to a halt.
<h3>Rolling Back The Big, Beautiful Bill</h3>
The Democrat funding proposal would simultaneously repeal a number of provisions of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that, taken together, would make it possible for illegal immigrants to get taxpayer-funded healthcare.
Democrats and the media are using this fact to their advantage. To the Chuck Schumers and Kaitlan Collinses of the world, because the Democrat funding bill, which House Republicans have named the <a href="https://appropriations.house.gov/news/press-releases/democrat-counterfeit-resolution-15-trillion-ransom-note-taxpayers">Counterfeit Resolution</a>, isn’t called “The Free Healthcare For Illegal Immigrants Act of 2025,” that must mean the bill wouldn’t let illegals get healthcare.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
This is a lie. Not a single federal dollar goes to providing health insurance for undocumented immigrants. NOT. ONE. PENNY.
Republicans would rather lie and shut down the government down than protect your health care. <a href="https://t.co/yfVsFUivMy">https://t.co/yfVsFUivMy</a>
— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) <a href="https://twitter.com/SenSchumer/status/1973174156725461480?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 30, 2025</a></blockquote>
&nbsp;
Of course, that’s not how policy works. That’s not how anything works, really.
The Heritage Foundation has a <a href="https://www.heritage.org/budget-and-spending/report/yes-senate-democrats-have-shut-down-the-government-over-giving-health" target="_blank" rel="noopener">good breakdown</a> of how section 2141 of the Democrat funding bill would roll back the OBBBA’s healthcare provisions. Most importantly, the bill would allow all “qualified aliens” to apply for Medicaid — as opposed to limiting eligibility to lawful permanent residents — and once again expand the federal match rate for state Medicaid programs.
Medicaid is funded jointly by states and the federal government. For every dollar a state pays, the federal government matches it with a payment of its own. The matching rate differs by state, and under the Biden administration, it was dramatically expanded.
This is what Kaitlan Collins was referring to when she told Rep. Mike Lawler (D-NY)  that there was a difference between “state and federal dollars” when it came to giving health benefits to illegal immigrants. Her point, it seems, was that while states can spend Medicaid money on illegals, the federal government is legally barred from doing so.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
GOP Rep. Mike Lawler says he opposes the Trump administration freezing roughly $18 billion for a pair of New York City infrastructure projects amid the government shutdown. <a href="https://t.co/QoHomfBiW7">pic.twitter.com/QoHomfBiW7</a>
— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) <a href="https://twitter.com/kaitlancollins/status/1973573706602652035?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 2, 2025</a></blockquote>
&nbsp;
But money is fungible — which means that, once those federal Medicaid dollars hit state bank accounts, it’s off to the races.
Just look at California, which has proudly expanded its Medicaid program to cover illegal aliens. Technically, it must cover illegal enrollees with state dollars. But California has devised a clever money laundering scheme wherein it taxes healthcare providers to fund its Medicaid program. The more it raises provider taxes, the more it gets from the federal government.
The result? Over <a href="https://paragoninstitute.org/medicaid/californias-insurance-tax-shuffle-how-federal-money-ends-up-paying-for-medicaid-for-illegal-immigrants/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">$5 billion</a> in healthcare for illegal aliens.
The OBBBA repealed an emergency 90% Medicaid match rate for illegal immigrants. Democrats’ funding bill would bring it back, putting taxpayers on the hook for the majority of costs of illegals enrolled in Medicaid — a population that would swell under the bill’s expansive “qualified alien” category. After that, nothing would stop states like New York and Massachusetts from following in California’s footsteps.
<h3>The Obamacare Free-For-All</h3>
Like with Medicaid, the OBBBA tightened eligibility requirements for noncitizens applying for Obamacare premium subsidies. Like with Medicaid, the Democrats’ funding bill would roll that back.
It gets worse.
During COVID, President Joe Biden signed legislation that expanded eligibility for Obamacare subsidies to those making up to 400% above the federal poverty level. That means these taxpayer-funded subsidies, meant to help the poorest Americans afford Obamacare plans, were available to people making <a href="http://kff.org/affordable-care-act/inflation-reduction-act-health-insurance-subsidies-what-is-their-impact-and-what-would-happen-if-they-expire/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">over $100,000 a year.</a> The legislation also <a href="https://paragoninstitute.org/private-health/ghostbusting-aca-fraud-millions-who-dont-use-their-health-insurance-expose-abuse-in-the-program/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">made Obamacare free</a> for people making between 100% and 150% of the federal poverty level.
Let’s set aside the fact that the federal government needs to spend billions of dollars paying for Americans to enroll in ostensibly &#8220;affordable&#8221; healthcare plans. Blowing open these doors has also led to a shocking surge in fraud.
According to the Paragon Health Institute, <a href="https://paragoninstitute.org/private-health/ghostbusting-aca-fraud-millions-who-dont-use-their-health-insurance-expose-abuse-in-the-program/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">6.4 million more people</a> qualified for free Obamacare than actually exist between 100% and 150% of the federal poverty level.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
📊 New Paragon resource: Obamacare Fraud, by the Numbers
The one-stop shop for data on improper enrollment, zero-claim enrollees, and billions in wasted subsidies.<a href="https://t.co/SbzEULJx3D">https://t.co/SbzEULJx3D</a> <a href="https://t.co/8DC5oGJjGB">pic.twitter.com/8DC5oGJjGB</a>
— Paragon Health Institute (@Paragon_Inst) <a href="https://twitter.com/Paragon_Inst/status/1973431605772558576?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 1, 2025</a></blockquote>
&nbsp;
So, more than 6 million people got free healthcare for which they were not eligible. All told, improper enrollees accounted for 26% of the Obamacare population in 2025. Bizarrely, 11.7 million people enrolled in Obamacare in 2024 never made a single claim — up from 3.4 million in 2021.
Democrats say this is a result of more young, healthy Americans enrolling in Obamacare plans but not needing to go to the doctor. Experts say it’s the result of widespread fraud.
Either way, it cost taxpayers more than $35 billion last year.
<h3>Healthcare For Illegals: It&#8217;s What&#8217;s Happening</h3>
If expanding Medicaid eligibility and federal matching didn’t help illegal immigrants get taxpayer-funded healthcare, this certainly will. Tightening eligibility requirements doesn’t just save money — it makes it easier for the government to prevent fraud. When pretty much everyone’s eligible for subsidies, preventing fraud is effectively impossible.
So, to recap: the next time someone tells you federal Medicaid dollars don’t go to illegals, remind them that money is fungible. And the next time someone tells you illegals aren’t allowed to enroll in federal health insurance programs, remind them that, last year, we spent $35 billion on health insurance for ghosts.

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Yes, Democrats Want To Give Illegals Free Healthcare. Here Are The Facts.

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Yes, Democrats Want To Give Illegals Free Healthcare. Here Are The Facts.