Medicaid deficit has Republicans questioning benefits for undocumented immigrants

Connecticut’s Medicaid expenses are on pace for a $220 million budget shortfall.

A policy extending coverage to undocumented children 15 and under is one of the reasons. The Office of Policy and Management, or OPM, doesn’t have any estimate for how much extra the policy is costing, but Democrats are standing by it.

“We can be either proactive and humane and provide people access to care, or we can be reactive and inhumane and deny that care and pay for it anyways,” Rep. Jason Rojas (D-Majority Leader) said.

But Republicans say it raises questions about how much Connecticut spends on benefits for undocumented immigrants.

“We owe it to the residents of Connecticut to take a look at and get it under control,” Rep. Vincent Candelora (R-Minority Leader) said.

Connecticut has overspent on Medicaid for a few reasons, including a higher-than-expected number of cases.

OPM expects to know in January how much of that overrun is because of health insurance for undocumented children. The agency is trying to figure out which children have legal status, thus making their coverage eligible for federal reimbursement.

Republicans are pointing to a study from the conservative Federation for American Immigration Reform, which estimates that Connecticut spent $1.3 billion more on services for undocumented immigrants than the state received from those households in 2023.

“The federal government broke the immigration policy in our country and hasn’t secured the borders and states end up baring 100% of the cost,” Candelora said.

Estimates on the cost of services for undocumented immigrants and the economic benefits they provide vary wildly, though.

The left-leaning Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy estimates undocumented immigrants paid nearly $97 billion in taxes in 2022. That’s triple the assumption made by FAIR.

Democrats also said it’s important to support families, regardless of their immigration status.

“What we’re doing as policy makers is responding to human need,” he said.

People who spoke with NBC Connecticut supported those polices.

“If we’re benefitting the people who need it the most, we are benefitting all of society,” Anthony Bottino, of Stamford, said.

Some did see a need to limit those programs, though.

“That's what tax dollars should be going toward is improving the community and improving lifestyles of people that live in those communities, however I do see what people might be talking about where it’s gotten to a point where they might want to draw back a little bit,” Ryan Beualieu, of Bristol, said.

Rojas said he expects some members of his caucus to revisit a proposal to expand the policy and offer Medicaid coverage to undocumented immigrants up to 18 years of age.

Gov. Ned Lamont (D-Connecticut) said the state examine the costs first.

“Let's take a look at how we’re doing on that front,” he said.

Candelora said the legislature should look at reducing the level of coverage offered. He said the current program keeps the legislature from using that money for other needs, such as expanding Medicaid and raising the reimbursement rate.

“That's what the democrats have done,” he said “They have prioritized this immigrant population over their own residents."