(CNN) — Amid government spending negotiations, President Donald Trump and other GOP leaders are making false claims that accuse Democrats of demanding free health care for “illegal aliens” in return for their support of a federal funding bill.
“The Democrats want Illegal Aliens, many of them VIOLENT CRIMINALS, to receive FREE Healthcare,” Trump wrote in a social media post last week.
“Democrats are about to shut down the government because they demand we fund healthcare for illegal aliens,” Vice President JD Vance posted last week.
But Trump and Vance’s assertions are not true. The Democrats are drawing a line in the sand over health care, but it doesn’t involve undocumented immigrants.
The Democrats are pushing to continue more generous federal subsidies to help Americans afford Obamacare policies and to reverse deep cuts to Medicaid contained in Trump’s sweeping domestic policy agenda package. But neither of those changes would provide health coverage to undocumented immigrants, since they aren’t eligible for either program.
The Democrats’ top priority is extending the enhanced federal subsidies for Affordable Care Act coverage. The beefed-up assistance, which was enacted as part of the Biden administration’s Covid-19 rescue package in 2021, is set to expire at the end of this year. If it lapses, premiums for Obamacare policies in 2026 are expected to skyrocket by more than 75%, on average, according to KFF, a nonpartisan health policy research group.
The enhanced subsidies have enabled many lower-income Americans to obtain coverage with no or very low monthly premiums and broadened eligibility for assistance to many middle-class consumers. The assistance helped attract a record 24 million people to sign up for coverage this year, roughly 92% of whom are subsidized.
Without the more generous aid, consumers are expected to flee the exchanges. About 4 million more people would be uninsured in 2034, according to a Congressional Budget Office analysis. What’s more, insurers would raise Obamacare premiums even higher since many of those remaining on the exchanges would be sicker and more costly.
It’s important to note that undocumented immigrants have never been eligible for Obamacare subsidies, and the Republicans’ One Big Beautiful Bill Act narrowed the eligibility of certain legal immigrants.
In addition to renewing the enhanced subsidies, the Democrats want to reverse the historic cuts to health care – particularly Medicaid – contained in the “big, beautiful bill.” The law institutes the first-ever work requirement in Medicaid and restricts legal immigrants’ access to the program, among other measures. These provisions are expected to lead to roughly 10 million more people being uninsured in 2034.
Asked for comment, a White House spokesperson pointed to the Democrats’ push to overturn the Republicans’ health care cuts, though that would broaden health care access for immigrants with legal status, not undocumented immigrants.
What’s more, undocumented immigrants are not eligible for federally funded health benefits, including Medicare, Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program, known as CHIP.
Medicaid may help cover emergency care at hospitals for undocumented immigrants who would otherwise qualify for the program, but this is not considered health insurance coverage. Less than 1% of total Medicaid spending went toward emergency Medicaid for undocumented immigrants in fiscal year 2023, according to KFF.
A number of states use their own funds to provide coverage to children and at least some low-income adults. An earlier version of Trump’s agenda bill contained a provision that would have penalized these states, but it did not make it into the final legislation.
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