Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., sent out a press release on Wednesday with the subject line, “Don’t believe the lies — President Trump and Republicans are saving Medicaid.”
The release came soon after the Senate narrowly passed a budget reconciliation bill that could force roughly 11 million people off of Medicaid. Medicaid provides health care for 70 million low-income, elderly and disabled Americans.
Overall, 17 million Americans could lose health insurance under this bill.
Issa’s statement said Medicaid is paying “benefits to millions of ineligible people, and violat(ing) our laws by enrolling criminal illegals to the tune of billions of dollars every year.”
Immigrants without legal status are not eligible for federal Medicaid dollars, and many immigrants with legal status are still not eligible.
Issa’s office didn’t respond to requests to share the evidence for his claims.
California enrolls immigrants without legal status in Medi-Cal coverage, but not Medicaid.
Gov. Gavin Newsom this year proposed changes to this policy in an effort to balance the state budget. The plan would freeze new enrollment for immigrants without legal status and implement monthly premiums for those who are already enrolled.
But this program is not paid for with federal dollars.
Other states that have expanded health care to immigrants also don’t use federal funding.
Rep. Mike Levin, D-Calif., called the bill and its cuts “the single worst piece of legislation I have ever seen.”
“The 17 million Americans that will lose health care are American citizens,” he told KPBS. “Any other numbers that you hear are complete disinformation being pushed by Republicans who are eager to scapegoat immigrants for all of their policy decisions.”
Levin said 2 million Californians and 25,000 of his constituents would lose their health coverage.
More than 223,000 Medi-Cal enrollees live in Issa’s district, according to the CHFC. One estimate said more than 28,000 of them would lose their coverage under this bill.
The impact won’t only be felt by those losing health insurance. According to the UC Berkeley Labor Center, San Diego County would lose between 7,600 and 15,200 jobs, and Issa’s district would lose between 1,500 and 3,100 jobs.
The bill is estimated to add $3 trillion to the national deficit while providing tax cuts that overwhelmingly benefit the rich, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.
“The reality is that this bill will hurt the most vulnerable American citizens,” Rep. Levin said. “Children, families, seniors, veterans, to pay for tax cuts for the very wealthiest Americans.”
