SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — As the government shutdown enters its 17th day, debates over Medicaid spending continue to dominate political discussions. One issue involves health care for undocumented immigrants who, by law, don't qualify for federal health programs but can still receive emergency care when required.
A new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association provides insight into how much emergency care for undocumented immigrants actually costs the government.
The research analyzed publicly available data from Washington, D.C., and 38 states, including California, looking at emergency Medicaid spending from 2022.
"What we found was that emergency Medicaid actually encompasses only less than 1% of total Medicaid spending," said Patricia Santos.
Santos is the first and corresponding author for the study. She's also an assistant professor at Emory University School of Medicine in the Radiation Oncology Department.
Emergency Medicaid provides health coverage for people who meet all usual Medicaid requirements but are undocumented. The coverage applies to serious medical conditions that would result in permanent injury, any serious medical condition that can cause death, or labor and delivery.
Researchers found that, on average, emergency Medicaid for undocumented immigrants made up only about 0.4% of Medicaid's entire budget.
"So any reduction through that specific mechanism is going to have very minimal overall fiscal benefit for the federal government, but it can really disproportionately impact the hospitals," Santos said.
Santos explained the study's goal was to provide a better understanding of Medicaid budgets as the administration proposes cuts to Medicaid and the government shutdown continues. The data show cutting emergency Medicaid spending would represent just a drop in the bucket compared to Medicaid's overall budget.
"So if they want to reduce wasteful spending or bloat, this is really not the way to do it. And it would just cause disproportionate harm to safety net hospitals," Santos said.
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