Minnesota Democrats are fighting to keep free health care for illegal immigrants while calling Republicans heartless monsters for trying to control the runaway $600 million program that was only supposed to cost $112 million.
At a Glance
- Minnesota’s MinnesotaCare program for undocumented immigrants will end for adults after December 31, 2023, as part of a state budget compromise
- Enrollment ballooned from an expected 5,700 to over 20,000 individuals, far exceeding projections
- The program costs soared to an estimated $600 million over four years, $400 million more than initially projected
- Democratic State Sen. Alice Mann accused Republicans of “not caring” about vulnerable populations for supporting the rollback
- Undocumented children will still remain eligible for taxpayer-funded health coverage
Minnesota’s Latest Budget Blowout
When Minnesota Democrats gleefully passed their law providing free healthcare to illegal immigrants last year, they assured taxpayers it would only cost $112 million over four years. Fast forward to reality, and the program is now projected to cost over $600 million – more than FIVE TIMES the original estimate. This is what happens when you hang up a “free stuff” sign at the border and act surprised when people show up to claim it.
Instead of the projected 5,700 enrollees, the program has attracted over 20,000 undocumented immigrants. That’s nearly four times what Democrats told the public to expect. In just the first few months of this year, taxpayers have already shelled out $3.9 million in claims. The fiscal reality has forced even Democratic Governor Tim Walz to accept a budget compromise that will end the program for undocumented adults at the end of 2023, though children will still receive benefits.
Democrats Choose Virtue Signaling Over Fiscal Sanity
Rather than acknowledging their catastrophic miscalculation, Democratic lawmakers are now throwing temper tantrums and accusing Republicans of essentially wanting to murder immigrants. State Senator Alice Mann, who authored the original law, delivered a particularly unhinged rant about the budget compromise, claiming Republicans “do not care about the wellbeing of people” and were willing to shut down the government just to “take away health care from 20,000 people.”
“I want to just put an exclamation point on what you just heard. We had negotiations with a party who does not care about the wellbeing of people. With a party who was willing to throw the entire state of Minnesota in disarray, to shut down the government, and in return for not doing that, they wanted to take away health care from 20,000 people. That was their priority. Their goal was to take away health care from people. Under the guise of fiscal responsibility.” – Democratic State Sen. Alice Mann.
Yes, because managing a budget and being concerned about a 400% cost overrun is just a “guise.” It couldn’t possibly be legitimate concern about fiscal responsibility. Mann even went further, suggesting Republicans don’t care if immigrants “suffer” and “die” simply because they look different or speak different languages. This kind of inflammatory rhetoric is what passes for “compassionate” discourse in today’s Democratic Party.
Republicans Push Back Against Unsustainable Spending
State Senator Jordan Rasmusson pointed out the obvious problem that Democrats refuse to acknowledge: “We have seen the number of illegal immigrant enrollees triple what the Democrats estimated back when they were looking at the program starting. This is a program that unfortunately is incentivizing illegal immigrants to come here to Minnesota because of these benefits.” Imagine that – offering free healthcare might actually attract more people to cross the border illegally!
“It’s not a measure of being uncaring. It’s a fiscal issue, and there are still opportunities for those Minnesotans that are here, those that are here illegally, they can still join the private market.” – House Speaker Lisa Demuth, R-Cold Spring.
Republicans have rightfully argued that the program is fiscally unsustainable. House Speaker Lisa Demuth put it plainly: “Fiscally, that could not go on.” Democrats can scream and shout all they want about heartlessness, but even Governor Walz had to admit the reality of the situation, saying “I’m not going to sugarcoat how difficult this was … we didn’t expect everybody to be happy on this.” When your own Democratic governor has to pull the plug on your pet program because it’s hemorrhaging money, perhaps the problem isn’t Republican cruelty – it’s Democratic math.
