To Cut Medicaid Costs, GOP Governors Target Illegal Immigrants

By Janet Adamy

Republican governors have a new target in their quest to cut Medicaid costs: illegal immigrants.

In a report released Tuesday, the Republican Governors Association outlined 31 solutions that it says would bring down the cost. Medicaid is a top budget item for states, and governors from both parties have complained it’s busting their purse as more people lose jobs and qualify for the federal-state insurance program for the poor.


The RGA has floated most of the ideas before, but one jumped out as new. Solution No. 5 would “require the federal government to take full responsibility for the uncompensated care costs of treating illegal aliens.â€