Peoria Standard

Critics are lining up against a projected $990 million in spending associated with Medicaid for noncitizen. 

“If you haven't already seen this, you will be interested in the $990 million that is now projected to go out the door. When are people in our state going to wake up to the ridiculousness of our government? Support (Rep.) Ryan (Spain) on this effort please,” Peoria business owner Pat Drake said on Facebook. 

Deputy House Republican Leader State Rep. Ryan Spain (R-Peoria) was one of several Republicans to sound the alarm over spending in the Medicaid program dedicated to undocumented immigrants. 

“Year after year, we saw the majority party continue to double down on these expansions, which are not eligible for federal matching funds,” Spain said at a press conference. “The Medicaid program in the State of Illinois is our biggest area of spending.” 

At a press confeence, Spain said the out-of-control spending threatens the state’s fiscal stability. 

“This billion-dollar hole, which is just the beginning, requires the General Assembly to exercise fiscal responsibility in both the short-term and long-term to ensure state budget sustainability,” Spain said.

Wirepoints posted a story providing details about the program. 

“For the year from March 2022 through February 2023, cost of care for the 65 and over age group was nearly $188 million, which is 94 times what (bill sponsor then- Rep. Delia) Ramirez claimed,” Mark Glennon wrote in Wirepoints. “Since then, the state expanded the program twice, lowering the age limit to 55 in 2021 and 42 a year later. The cost estimates of those expansions also shatter estimates made along the way. Now, the expanded program is estimated to cost $990 million for the fiscal year that starts July 1. That’s an increase of $768 million over this year, which was the first full year under the expanded program.”

In 2020 Illinois became the first state to offer free healthcare to noncitizens. The program allowing the undocumented to take advantage of Medicaid has been dramatically expanded without adequate funding to ensure its fiscal health. Spain and other Republican leaders in the General Assembly called for a “pause” to the program until it can be audited. Spain filed House Resolution 220 in that effort. 

According to its synopsis, the resolution “Urges a moratorium on the enrollment of new beneficiaries for Medicaid services under the program for undocumented immigrants and a moratorium on the expansion of Medicaid services and coverage for any new population of undocumented immigrants not already covered; and urges the Auditor General to conduct a performance audit as soon as reasonably possible, and annually thereafter, to assess the Department of Healthcare and Family Services' administration of the program of Medicaid services and coverage provided to undocumented immigrants.”

Drake is the founder and president of a medical staffing company based in Peoria.