The Republican Party has falsely claimed that Democrats are shutting down the government to fund free health care for unauthorized immigrants. However, this is not accurate.
Democrat Senator Patty Murray stated that unauthorized immigrants are not eligible for federally funded health coverage under existing law or Democrats’ funding proposal. Instead, Republicans claim that certain groups of “lawfully present” immigrants will lose subsidy eligibility due to a change in the tax cut and domestic policy law.
The Republican Party’s proposed law would indeed revoke subsidy eligibility from 1.2 million people, but it does not characterize them as illegal or unauthorized immigrants. The federal government reimburses hospitals for providing emergency care to low-income unauthorized immigrants who are otherwise ineligible for Medicaid.
Some states provide government-funded health care for low-income children and adults regardless of immigration status. However, these programs are state-funded and not affected by the federal funding currently debated in Congress.
The Democrats’ budget proposal aims to extend Affordable Care Act subsidies and roll back Medicaid cuts in the tax cut and domestic policy law signed by President Trump. This proposal does not provide free health care for unauthorized immigrants but rather seeks to restore eligibility for certain groups of “lawfully present” immigrants.
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/29/us/politics/republicans-shutdown-fact-check-health-immigration.html