House Speaker Responds to Caller on Medicaid and Illegal Immigration
On Thursday, House Speaker Mike Johnson addressed a caller during a C-SPAN segment who accused him of being dishonest regarding illegal immigrants receiving Medicaid benefits.
In a June announcement, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) had indicated that around 1.4 million individuals would be excluded from Medicaid under a reconciliation bill signed by former President Donald Trump. These individuals were described as “people who do not meet the citizenship or immigration status requirements for Medicaid enrollment but would be eligible for state-funded programs under current law.” Johnson referenced the CBO estimates to bolster his argument, along with a Democratic funding bill during the Washington Journal discussion.
The caller challenged Johnson’s statements, asking, “If Republicans and Democrats can agree to a one-year extension of the Affordable Care Act, how can you sit here and lie about this while introducing a bill for subsidies and pushing it to a vote?”
In response, Johnson asserted, “I’m not lying. I’m stating facts. You can check the documents for yourself. Don’t rely solely on Republican papers. Look at what the Congressional Budget Office reported; they stated that at least 1.4 million illegal immigrants are straining Medicaid resources. That’s why we implemented reforms and signed the legislation into effect on July 4.” He went on to refer to sections of the Democratic proposal as pivotal in changing the current narrative.
Johnson expressed his support for the Democratic proposal available on his official website, emphasizing, “See for yourself. Don’t just take my word for it.” He pointed out that the provisions he highlighted aim to “repeal” aspects of the reconciliation bill from July, specifically those concerning Medicare and measures to address waste and fraud along with eligibility restrictions for non-citizens.
The Senate was unable to pass a continuing resolution on September 30, falling short of the 60 votes necessary to overcome a Democratic filibuster. Republicans have consistently accused Democrats of risking a government shutdown to finance healthcare for illegal immigrants, a claim that government agencies deny, stating their emphasis is on reducing healthcare costs.
Meanwhile, millions of Medicare beneficiaries have access to telemedicine and home healthcare services, despite the Democratic Party’s rejection of the continuing resolution, which ultimately passed in the early hours of October 1st.
