OAN Staff Blake Wolf
11:08 AM – Saturday, November 1, 2025
The Trump administration announced that it is launching probes into Medicaid spending on illegal aliens in at least six Democrat run states in an attempt to expel waste, fraud, and abuse in the public healthcare system.
According to a preliminary audit conducted by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), California, Washington, D.C., Illinois, Washington, Colorado, and Oregon spent a total of $1,351,204,127 on healthcare for illegal aliens utilizing Medicaid funds, mostly during 2024 and 2025.
Utilizing federal Medicaid funds to provide healthcare coverage to illegal aliens is illegal under federal law; however, Medicaid funds can be used to cover emergency medical services for anyone, regardless of their immigration status.
The Trump administration is arguing that the Democrat states in question are providing comprehensive healthcare to illegal immigrants utilizing federal Medicaid funds, prompting the probe.
“Medicaid is by far the largest source of federal funding for states. It was originally intended to only provide aid for eligible beneficiaries, but, over time, states have figured out how to game the system, padding permitted expenses and diverting the profits to fund activities that are supposedly prohibited,” stated Manhattan Institute public health policy expert Chris Pope.
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“Any claim that state healthcare expenditures don’t ultimately involve some form of federal funds should be regarded with suspicion,” he added.
Meanwhile, Democrat leaders from the list of states suspected of breaking federal law have argued that the probe is “based on an incorrect preliminary finding,” while arguing that their policies are in accordance with federal law.
“Our payments for coverage of undocumented individuals are in accordance with state and federal laws,” stated Colorado Department of Health Care Policy & Financing spokesman Marc Williams. “The $1.5 million number referenced by federal leaders today is based on an incorrect preliminary finding, and has been refuted with supporting data by our Department experts.”
“It is disappointing that the administration is announcing this number as final when it is clearly overstated and the conversations are very much in the education and discussion phase,” he added.
According to the preliminary audit conducted by CMS, California spent over $1 billion in federal Medicaid funds on illegal immigrants, followed by Illinois, which reportedly spent nearly $30 million. Oregon spent the third most, according to the audit, totaling over $5 million.
California Governor Gavin Newsom’s office has since denied the claims, stating that the allegations are “false.”
Additionally, CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz issued a lengthy Saturday X post on the matter.
“Based on our initial set of audits, more than $1B of federal taxpayer dollars were being spent on funding Medicaid for illegal immigrants. And my team is getting it back. Some want to deny that illegal immigrants are receiving Medicaid. Others insist it’s illegal for Medicaid to cover illegal immigrants. And others accurately point out that hospitals can provide emergency services to illegal immigrants under the program,” he wrote.
“We can all agree on this: rooting out fraud, waste, and abuse is essential to protecting this program for the most vulnerable. It’s also one of the Trump Administration’s top priorities,” Dr. Oz continued.
Dr. Oz went on to state that although states are permitted to provide emergency treatment to individuals regardless of their legal status, Democrats went “even further by breaking federal law to give illegal immigrants federal Medicaid dollars meant for American citizens.”
“Earlier this year, the CMS team began auditing state Medicaid programs to ensure they were following the law and not spending any federal tax dollars on illegal immigrants outside of emergency Medicaid. What we found was shocking. In a preliminary review of 6 states, we found those states improperly using federal tax dollars for their allegedly state-funded program and providing coverage to individuals, including some with criminal records of murder and assault.”
“We notified the states, and many have begun refunding the money. But what if we had never asked? Whether willful or not, the states’ conduct highlights a terrifying reality: American taxpayers have been footing the bill for illegal immigrants’ Medicaid coverage, despite many Democrats and the media insisting otherwise.”
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