Democrats Putting Healthcare for Illegal Immigrants Above Nursing Homes
by Senator Jeff Howe
I’m sure many have heard about Democrats’ inability to balance a budget – based on the $18 billion surplus being turned into a $6 billion deficit in record time, the evidence is clear. But what was even more troubling to me, was how they suggested we address the deficit they created. Instead of cutting things like wasteful projects, funding to untested nonprofits, and tackling fraud, they suggested something totally out of left field: cuts to things like special education, disability services, and nursing homes.
As of writing this, regular session has just adjourned. We have a lot of bills still left on the table, including the Human Services Budget bill, which is where the nursing home cuts were included. When Special Session is called, this will be one of the pieces we take up.
When we first saw that Human Services bill, it included more than $1 billion in reductions over the next four years that will hit long-term care facilities, disability services, and nursing homes across the state. This was already alarming to hear. And back in February, Governor Walz himself proposed cutting nursing home funding by $220 million. This is how Democrats think we will solve their budget woes.
To explain why this is so alarming, I want to take folks back to the start. Back in 2023, Democrats passed legislation that made illegal immigrants eligible for enrolling in taxpayer-funded healthcare through MNCare. At the time, the program was estimated to cost around $220 million, and it was assumed there would be about 5,800 enrollees in the first year of eligibility. Well that program has been live for a little over four months, and enrollees have quadrupled what they expected – we’re past 20,000 at this point! Yet somehow, an updated cost projection hasn’t been released.
Therein lies my issue – Democrats continue to support this program at an unknown cost (which we assume to be at least $220 million), while simultaneously proposing to cut nursing home funding by $220 million! Do these priorities match with that of families across the state? I do not believe so.
And that isn’t even the full story! If we cut nursing home funding by $220 million, that means our state loses out on a federal match of an equal amount! This doesn’t make a lick of sense for an industry that came to legislature in 2023 begging for a lifeline, so they could keep facility doors open across the state. If we continue putting this investment towards nursing homes, the state will get a federal match that it would not get if this funding instead goes to healthcare for illegal immigrants.
This inability to prioritize legal Minnesota citizens is alarming! Democrats threw a fit at the end of the regular session when they got wind of a plan to end MNCare for illegal immigrants and they had a complete meltdown, which is partially responsible for us not getting our work done on time. That means they are content to let Minnesota families lose services they rely on, just so we can give handouts and encourage more people to come here illegally. Folks, this is a big issue.
Whether you look at the Governor’s cuts or Senate Democrats’ cuts, both would cause irreparable harm to nursing homes in our area. Over the next 4 years, if the Governor’s are adopted, nursing homes in our area stand to lose $12 million in state funding alone. Over that same timeframe, if the Senate Democrats’ plan is adopted, our nursing homes would only lose about $7.5 million in state funding, but that’s still far too much.
If we can’t help our nursing homes and put Minnesotans first, why should we be funding services to those here illegally? With a $6 billion deficit, we need to be thoughtful in how we budget, and every single program we fund should focus solely on meeting the needs of our citizens.