Medicaid spending on migrants in Florida plummets after DeSantis crackdown on illegals: report

Florida’s Medicaid spending on migrants has nosedived by 54% so far this year after Gov.Ron DeSantis’ bid to push back against illegal immigration.

Some observers fear that DeSantis’ move to force people to reveal their immigration status at hospitals is keeping them away from seeking urgent care, thus driving down the Medicaid spending.Last fiscal year, before the Florida law, $148.4 million in state and federal Medicaid funds helped cover emergency care for migrants in Florida, according to data obtained by Politico.But as of May 3, with only about two months left of the fiscal year, only $67 million has been spent on the program.Last year, DeSantis signed Senate Bill 1718, which mandated hospitals ask patients about their citizenship status.Hospitals were also required to apprise the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration about the breakdown of citizenship among those who received treatment.

The legislation was part of a bill that enacted a broader crackdown on illegal immigration into Florida, including by mandating immigration-status verification with employers who have 25 or more workers.DeSantis signed the law during a legislative frenzy just before he kicked off his unsuccessful 2024 bid for the Republican presidential nod.

Medicaid is a program that helps provide health care for those in financial need and receives a combination of both state and federal funding.The program is distinct from Medicare, which services the elderly.

Spending on emergency coverage for immigrants from Medicaid in Florida had been on a downward trajectory before the signing of 1718 but was nowhere near the current drop.The Post reached out to the Florida AHCA to inquire about the data.Florida’s budget for the next fiscal year allocates $557,882 to help shore up AHCA’s program to observe healthcare costs spent on illegal immigrants.

Back in March, AHCA dropped a report estimating that hospitals had to cover about $566 million worth of health-care payments in t...