As the government shutdown drags on, in large part over healthcare spending, a top Medicaid official says more than $1 billion in Medicaid funds went to illegal immigrants.
Dr. Mehmet Oz, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services administrator, called out Democrats for gaslighting the American public when it comes to taxpayer-funded Medicaid spending for illegal immigrants.
Oz appeared on “Fox & Friends” last week and said his agency has launched an investigation into the issue, which uncovered more than $1 billion in Medicaid payments to illegal immigrants across several states.
“They keep claiming that there is no money going for Medicaid, an agency that I run, towards illegal immigrants,” Oz said on “Fox & Friends”. “We decided to do our homework. We sent our best investigators out to evaluate what is going on. Over the last few months, we have proven that there’s been over $1 billion, a billion, that’s a billion with a B.”
Oz said President Donald Trump “insisted we take the fraud, waste and abuse out of the system.” The One Big Beautiful Bill has provisions to do that, which is a key issue the Democrats won’t concede on.
“That’s a lot of money, a billion paid by U.S. taxpayers, for illegal immigrants in about a half dozen states, and we’re just getting started,” Oz said.
The Congressional stalemate has entered its third week. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and most Democrats are holding out over Medicaid policy changes and cuts included in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Senate Democrats refuse to pass a continuing resolution that would fund the government through Nov. 21 without rescinding the cuts provided by the legislation.
Republicans contend Democrats are holding the government hostage over extending health care benefits to illegal immigrants and other efforts by the Trump administration to cut government waste.
Democrats have demanded that the budget deal include an extension of Affordable Care Act subsidies, which are set to expire at the end of the year after previously agreeing to sunsetting the subsidies.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced in May that it was stepping up financial oversight of states illegally using federal Medicaid funding for illegal immigrants.
That’s after a May 2024 audit by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Officer of Inspector General found that California improperly claimed $52.7 million in federal Medicaid reimbursement for capitation payments made on behalf of noncitizens with “unsatisfactory immigration status.”
The OIG recommended that the state refund the federal government. In addition, the OIG report expressed concerns about the costs of emergency healthcare for illegal immigrants in the audit on the Golden State, Fox News Digital reported.
Several states, including California, New York and Illinois, provide broader Medicaid coverage to undocumented immigrants, and these expanded benefit programs vary by state. Many states offer coverage to specific groups like children and pregnant women.
Oz said the new legislation allows for better oversight of how federal Medicaid dollars are reimbursed, especially in states that offer full dental, vision and “robust” health services. Those states will have to pick up the tab with their own state income tax.
“If you live in Texas or Florida, and you’re paying U.S. federal taxes — most people do — your money is being diverted to places like California who have robust benefits for illegal immigrants,” Oz said. “Those funds, we have no ability to track until today. Now we’re investigating it, and we’re going to continue to track this across the country. So, we are clawing that money back.”
Various news reports refute the claims of Republicans, saying that claim is “false” because illegal immigrants were already barred from Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, exchanges.
However, federal law requires hospitals to provide care for medical emergencies, including labor and delivery, regardless of a person’s immigration status.
Medicaid reimburses hospitals for the cost of treating an individual with an emergency medical condition if they meet all other Medicaid eligibility criteria, such as income limits.
Another recent ABC News report tried to spin the findings, claiming “Emergency Medicaid for undocumented immigrants made up only 0.4% of total Medicaid spending in 2022.”
But the study looked at data for fiscal year 2022 from the Medicaid Budget and Expenditure System — data collected before President Joe Biden lifted the COVID-era border ban, known as Title 42, on May 11, 2023, that prompted a surge of immigrants at the southern border.
An article by Sally Pipes for The Washington Examiner reported that emergency Medicaid spending on illegal immigrants was just $2.06 billion in 2020, according to the Foundation for Government Accountability. By 2024, that figure had ballooned to $6.15 billion.
California is by far the chief offender, responsible for 74% of emergency Medicaid spending on illegal immigrants.
In another report from Fox News Digital, a White House official said emergency care spending on those not legally in the U.S. rose from $3 billion to $9 billion under Biden across various states.
YouTuber and vlogger Peter Santenello made several trips to the southern border for a real look at the situation. In a May 2025 border update video, he interviewed a health care administrator (1 hour, 14 minute mark) who discussed the strain illegal immigration had placed on a hospital in the Yuma sector of Arizona, particularly in the way of pregnant women arriving at the hospital with no resources or a place to live after giving birth.
Under the Biden administration, states did not place limits on the length of time someone could attest to having eligible immigration status for Medicaid.
Tax dollars spent on illegal migrants exceeded that of pregnant women, children, elderly and the disabled during the Biden administration, according to the White House official who spoke to Fox News Digital.
“You can’t just dole that out to able-body illegal immigrants in states because they think it’s the right thing to do,” Oz noted on the Fox and Friends segment. “If they want to pay for it, they should pay for it.”
The White House has taken to social media to highlight the illegal immigrants who received Medicaid. Officials also released information on nearly 50 criminal illegal migrants who received Medicaid to Fox News Digital.
🚨 What the DEM SHUTDOWN is really about: Criminal illegal aliens, now deported thanks to President Trump, were exposed receiving taxpayer-funded Medicaid.
This is EXACTLY what Democrats swear “isn’t happening.” They lie, while Republicans fight to ensure this NEVER happens. pic.twitter.com/ACwCcFwTq1
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) October 15, 2025
They have all been deported under the Trump administration, but they were arrested for various crimes in the U.S. including murder, assault, burglary, rape and other serious charges.
“Democrats shut down the government and are inflicting pain on hardworking Americans because they want to provide free healthcare to illegal aliens,” White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson told Fox News Digital. “Due to previously lax federal controls and Democrat state policies, criminal illegal murderers and rapists received Medicaid at the American taxpayers’ expense.”
Oz said the president is “laser-focused” on uncovering waste and fraud and protecting taxpayers, adding that tax dollars should go to support services for the country’s most vulnerable citizens.
“The people who should be doing some of these investigations are being compromised by a shutdown that’s based on false information,” Oz said. “There is money being given to illegal immigrants on Medicaid. It’s designed for our most vulnerable, our kids, our elderly folks, and people who are struggling with significant health issues.”
