Illinois' migrant health care subsidies projected to be $300 million
over budget
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[October 23, 2023]
By Andrew Hensel | The Center Square
(The Center Square) – Illinois will pause a program intended to provide
taxpayer subsidized health care to the influx of non-citizen arrivals.
The program is already up to $831.6 million in projected taxpayer costs.
As part of the state's fiscal year 2024 budget that began July 1, Gov.
J.B. Pritzker modified the state's health benefits for immigrants
programs to only cover those over 65 for a total budgeted amount of $550
million. There would also be co-pays paid for by the enrollee and
cost-sharing measures paid for by the service provider.
In July 2023, the total cost of the plan for all ages over 42 was $63.1
million. The taxpayer cost for August totaled $135.9 million.
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The Pritzker administration had said they would suspend the program if
enrollment for the Health Benefits for Immigrant Seniors program reached
16,500. In that announcement last summer, the administration also said
they were going to implement a $100 co-pay for hospital emergency room
visits and a $250 co-pay for inpatient hospitalizations. These measures
have yet to be implemented.
State Sen. Chapin Rose, R-Mahomet, said Friday the state needs to stop
putting taxpayer dollars into this program.
"A billion dollars spent projected for migrants, and they only allocated
$650 million of that $1.2 billion," Rose said. "So right off the top,
you have half a billion, and the governor says, 'Trust me, I'll manage
it'. Well, that trust only worked to September."
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The average monthly costs per participant related to the subsidies have
also increased.
"I don't think we should be spending one more penny on this and also let
me say this: this is exactly why this budget passed this year was such a
phony-baloney budget," Rose said.
Illinois has seen over 18,000 noncitizens arrive over the past 13
months, and more are expected to continue being bused to Illinois after
crossing the southern U.S. border.
Healthy Illinois, a group that supports health care for the arrivals,
released a statement urging the population to continue to enroll despite
the planned suspension for new enrollees.
"While expected, today's announcement is still a disappointing step
backward from the collective progress our state has made around health
care access. The HBIS program provides vital, lifesaving health care
services to thousands of vulnerable older adults across Illinois," the
statement said. "After a series of other significant program changes in
the past year, pausing enrollment in the HBIS program with short notice
will not only limit access to critical health care services, but it will
also significantly diminish the state's ability to care for its elderly
residents. We strongly encourage seniors who may qualify for the HBIS
program to enroll immediately before the Nov. 6 cutoff date."
Adam Niemerg, R-Tuetopolis, said there is no way of knowing what this
increase will cost taxpayers.
"I'd like to know what the real cost actually is," Niemerg said. "I've
asked what is the real cost on Illinois taxpayers as a result of these
open border policies."
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