Friends and neighbors,
During a debate on the Senate’s Human Services budget proposal last week, I offered a common-sense amendment: instead of spending millions of your tax dollars on MinnesotaCare coverage for illegal immigrants, let’s use that money to support Minnesota nursing homes.
In just the first three months of 2025, more than 17,000 illegal immigrants signed up for MinnesotaCare. That number likely increased in April but we haven’t received official numbers yet. Either way, it’s already triple what the Walz administration projected for the entire year.
The cost to taxpayers so far is $134 million, and it’s rising fast. At this rate, we’ll soon be spending over $600 million on this program, with zero federal match. Every dollar is coming directly from you, the taxpayers of Minnesota.
Meanwhile, the Senate Democrat Human Services budget proposal includes deep cuts to nursing homes across the state. In our district alone, facilities are facing more than $10 million in cuts over the next four years:
- Cokato Manor, Inc: $1,154,456
- Augustana Lakeside Health Care Center of Dassel: $626,551
- Bayside Manor of Gaylord: $377,544
- Glencoe Regional Health Services: $5,893,285
- Harmony River Living Center (NH) of Hutchinson: $1,348,324
- The Gardens at Winsted: $779,976
These are places that care for our parents, grandparents, and neighbors.
My amendment would have repealed MinnesotaCare for illegal immigrants and use that funding to lift the cap on nursing home reimbursements. Nursing home funding qualifies for a one-to-one federal match, so every state dollar brings in another from the federal government. It’s a smarter, better use of taxpayer money, and it honors the vulnerable Minnesotans who deserve our care.
Watch my floor comments on my amendment here: https://youtu.be/IxYzSSrtaFE?si=zN3gHOY0Q6u1qHGS
I have heard from so many of you who are frustrated watching loved ones potentially lose access to long-term care while Democrats hand out taxpayer-funded benefits to illegal immigrants. I hear you. Let’s take care of our own citizens first and foremost.
If you have any questions, please contact me any time.
God Bless,