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Hello from the State Capitol,
Word appears to be getting around that free healthcare is available to illegal immigrants in Minnesota, as the number of people taking advantage of the state government freebie has already doubled in expected cost to state taxpayers.
The program was projected to cost $196 million over four years. With current enrollment, that cost has exploded to an estimated $550 million, and that total continues to grow.
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. That number is only going to escalate, along with future costs.
Worth noting: the illegal immigrant enrollment numbers have not been publicly disclosed; they only became available after repeated requests were made from House Republicans and finally confirmed via email earlier this month.
It’s hard to believe our state is actually spending your tax dollars on this. We’re soon to be facing a $6 billion deficit. Our counties, schools, and nursing homes are bracing for cuts, yet we’re spending more than half a billion dollars to provide free health insurance to people who shouldn’t be here in the first place.
AGRICULTURE FINANCE BILL APPROVED
Typically, the agriculture finance proposal is one of the most bipartisan budget bills we see every two years, and this year’s was no exception, being approved by a 130 to 3 vote.
In addition to funding rural development initiatives and programs utilized by farmers, the House plan also rejected a costly mandate on food manufacturers and grocers and refused all fee increases the governor’s administration had proposed.
LOCAL VISITORS
Appreciated having Superintendent Tom Jerome from Roseau down to St. Paul as my guest for the Governor's State of the State address this week!
Heading into session, Minnesota Republicans heard overwhelmingly that schools across the state are at a breaking point, and we are committed to saving our schools, despite the looming $6 billion budget deficit. This begins by providing funding and flexibility and trusting educators and our locally elected school boards to make the best decisions at the local level.
Senator Mark Johnson and I were also able to visit with students from Lancaster, who were in St. Paul on Thursday touring the State Capitol.
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