More states extend health coverage to immigrants even as issue inflames GOP

Immigrants wait to be processed after they crossed the border into the U.S. in Eagle Pass, Texas, on Dec. 22. Eleven states and D.C. offer taxpayer-funded health insurance to some immigrants without legal status. (Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty Images)

A growing number of states are opening taxpayer-funded health insurance programs to immigrants, including those living in the U.S. without authorization, even as Republicans assail President Joe Biden over a dramatic increase in illegal crossings of the southern border.

Eleven states and Washington, D.C., together provide full health insurance coverage to more than 1 million low-income immigrants regardless of their legal status, according to state data compiled by KFF Health News. Most aren't authorized to live in the U.S., state officials say.