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Hello from St. Paul,
One of the reasons Minnesota is facing a projected budget deficit during the next budget cycle is due to the skyrocketing cost of the state providing free health insurance to illegal immigrants.
Health care isn’t cheap, and when your government allows more people to receive it for nothing, no one should be surprised that more people are eagerly taking advantage of it.
In 2023, a Democrat-led legislature and Governor Walz expanded MinnesotaCare eligibility to illegal immigrants. MinnesotaCare is a health coverage program for low-income individuals and families who do not have access to employee-sponsored health insurance and do not qualify for Medical Assistance (MA).
According to the Minnesota Department of Health, 17,396 illegal immigrants are now enrolled in MinnesotaCare, more than twice the original estimate of 7,700. This means a program that was projected to cost $196 million over four years is now costing an estimated $550 million and counting.
The federal government typically pays 90% of the costs for enrollees in MinnesotaCare with the state covering the other 10%. But illegal immigrants don’t qualify for federal matching funds, meaning Minnesota taxpayers are being forced to cover 100% of these benefits.
LOCAL VISITORS
This week, Senator Weber and I were pleased to meet with students from St. John’s Lutheran School in Okabena.
The group was in St. Paul to tour the State Capitol. Thanks for stopping by!
Have a good weekend,
Marj
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