Minnesota bill cutting free health care for illegal immigrants heads to governor

Minnesota is poised to repeal much of its free health care for illegal immigrants.

Both chambers of the Minnesota Legislature passed a bipartisan measure this week preventing illegal immigrant adults from receiving free, taxpayer-funded health insurance in Minnesota, Alpha News reports. The bill won’t impact access for illegal immigrant children.

The legislation passed 68-65 in the Republican-controlled House, with one Democrat joining 67 Republicans to provide the 68 votes needed to pass.

Additionally, the Democratic-controlled Minnesota Senate voted 37-30 in favor, with several Democrats joining the body’s Republicans.

“This is about being honest with Minnesotans about how their tax dollars are being spent,” Sen. Jordan Rasmusson, R-Fergus Falls, said on the Senate floor. “We cannot justify spending hundreds of millions on individuals who broke the law to enter the country while we face cuts to special education, nursing homes, and disability services.” 

The vote comes as the House, Senate and Gov. Tim Walz struck a budget deal last month that included repealing health care access for illegal immigrant adults. 

Walz and the then-Democratic-controlled Minnesota Legislature enacted legislation in 2023 making illegal immigrants eligible for the state’s Medicaid program, MinnesotaCare. Now this law will only apply to children. 

Walz is expected to sign the provision into law per the budget agreement. 

Even so, rank-and-file Democrats weren’t happy about it. 

“We didn’t think we were going to have this many people speaking up on the floor today,” state Rep. Maria Isa Perez-Vega, D-St. Paul, said on the House floor. “But thank you for those of you who have said ‘this bill sucks.’” 

However, Medicaid wasn’t invented to provide illegal immigrants with health care, noted state Rep. Jeff Backer, R-Browns Valley. 

“MinnesotaCare was never designed to be a comprehensive healthcare system for undocumented individuals. It was created to serve hardworking, lawful Minnesotans,” Backer said. “We must prioritize Minnesotans and protect their wallets and healthcare.” 

House Democrats attempted Monday to amend the proposal. Their provision would have let illegal immigrants ages 59 and older or those with certain health conditions stay enrolled in the program; it failed on a party-line vote. 

“Members, if we do not stop this, we are creating a deficit in the healthcare access fund,” said state Rep. Kristin Robbins, R-Maple Grove. 

“I know, Democrats, you had an $18 billion surplus that you turned into a $6 billion deficit,” she added. “Well, you are about to do it again for low-income Minnesotans. We cannot afford to create another deficit that will hurt our most vulnerable citizens.”