The Trump administration is taking its immigration crackdown to the health care safety net, launching Medicaid spending probes in at least six Democratic-led states that provide comprehensive health coverage to poor and disabled immigrants living in the U.S. without permanent legal status.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is scouring payments covering health care for immigrants without legal status to ensure there isn’t any waste, fraud or abuse, according to public records obtained by KFF Health News and The Associated Press. While acknowledging that states can bill the federal government for Medicaid emergency and pregnancy care for immigrants without legal status, federal officials have sent letters notifying state health agencies in California, Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota, Oregon and Washington that they are reviewing federal and state payments for medical services, such as prescription drugs and specialty care.
