“ Last week, President Donald Trump issued an executive order barring illegal immigrants from accessing welfare benefits. His action opens the door to a thorough reevaluation of how the federal government treats states that give generous benefits to unlawful residents.
In particular, the Department of Health and Human Services should stop approving Medicaid waivers for states that provide free health insurance for illegal aliens. Following President Trump’s order, Health & Human Services secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. should sunset key Medicaid waivers to states, such as New York and California, that cover illegal migrants.
To achieve President Trump’s goal, Kennedy would rely on an often-overlooked policy mechanism: waivers issued under Section 1115 of the Social Security Act. These waivers grant states special permission to expand or restrict Medicaid eligibility beyond standard federal requirements. That lets states experiment with ways to reduce costs or improve care, like imposing work requirements on welfare recipients.
States have also used Section 1115 waivers to bypass federal eligibility guidelines—including those that prohibit coverage of illegal immigrants. Fourteen states now offer Medicaid or Children’s Health Insurance Program benefits to at least some people living in the United States illegally, and 12 of those states have an approved Medicaid waiver. Five states with waivers cover illegal immigrants of all ages and categories.”
https://www.city-journal.org/article/trump-department-of-health-and-human-services-medicaid-waivers-illegal-immigrants
BREAKING: MAGA Speaker Mike Johnson goes full Alex Jones and claims that the droves of angry voters who have been swarming town halls to oppose Republican cuts to Medicaid and Social Security are "paid protestors."
And it gets so much worse...
"The videos you saw of the town halls were for paid protesters in many of those places. These are Democrats who went to the events early and filled up the seats. If the videos had panned out—" Johnson told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins.
Collins pushed back, asserting that Johnson couldn't possible "argue they were all paid protesters, though" because "one Republican acknowledged they were his constituents."
"Uh, one Republican acknowledged they were constituents. That’s fantastic," replied Johnson. "Ok, but they had Democrats come and fill the seats early, all right?"
"This is an old playbook that they pulled out and ran, and it made it look like that what is happening in Washington is unpopular. But I’m gonna tell you, Kaitlan, the American people are behind what’s happening," he added.
The truth, of course, is that these were not paid protestors. Americans are understandably concerned about Trump and Elon Musk slashing and burning their way through crucial programs that they rely on to live.
Americans need Medicaid and Social Security to survive. Government employees need their jobs to feed their families. The gall it takes for Republicans to destroy these people's lives and them label them "paid protestors" is staggering.
The only people who stand "behind" what's happening right now are the billionaires who will benefit from the massive tax cuts that DOGE is paving the way for and MAGA cultists who will support literally anything that Donald Trump does.
The budget resolution passed by Republicans on Tuesday calls for $880 billion in cuts to spending overseen by the House Energy and Commerce Committee — and the majority of the spending that the committee oversees goes towards Medicaid and Medicare.
In other words, if Republicans want to come even close to that $880 billion reduction they're going to have to completely gut healthcare for millions of Americans. Medicaid alone provides coverage for 1 in 5 Americans.
If they proceed with this plan, the suffering and destruction inflicted will be incalculable — and Republicans will pay dearly for it at the ballot box.
AND SOON FOR EVERYBODY.
