In an upcoming rule change, the Biden administration is expanding Obamacare to illegal immigrants. Using public benefits for illegals is not just a federal issue. The Gem State is supporting illegal immigration with public benefits right now — and has for some time. The Idaho Legislature must put an end to this in 2025.
This latest federal effort to expand taxpayer-funded healthcare benefits to illegals comes from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). The department revised its definition of a “lawfully present” person, thus changing who would qualify for programs under Obamacare — more formally known as the Affordable Care Act (ACA) — namely subsidized coverage.
The ACA created centralized online exchanges where Americans could qualify for government subsidies for their coverage through premium tax credits (PTCs). Temporary changes from COVID-era policies allow PTCs to fully subsidize coverage, and anyone above the poverty line is eligible.
Presently, “anyone” means those lawfully present in the United States — thus excluding illegal immigrants. But the revised rule from CMS would count those residing in the United States under Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) as “lawfully present.”
Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador recently joined a suit with 14 other states to challenge CMS’s new rule. Together, they argue that by definition, DACA recipients are not lawfully present in the U.S. and should not qualify for federal benefits like PTCs.
Expanding eligibility for PTCs harms the taxpayers covering the cost — either through taxes directly or by secondary effects like inflation. Allowing anyone to come into the United States and enroll in government programs is a recipe for our nation to be the world’s welfare state — albeit more directly than by sending dollars to foreign nations first.
This policy change would benefit insurance companies in particular, since they won’t have to lower their rates to access a new customer base of about 200,000 DACA recipients. Insurers were already under fire for fraudulently enrolling beneficiaries. The new CMS policy would only exacerbate the issue by explicitly adding illegals to the mix.
Idaho is fortunate to have a conservative attorney general fighting against federal bureaucratic overreach. Labrador’s involvement already defended Idahoans against the left’s strategy to rewrite the law by fudging definitions in other issue areas. This includes a new Title IX definition change that placates boys pretending to be girls in public schools. This opposition is an asset to the preservation of conservative ideals in our state.
The job does not end with the Office of the Attorney General. The Legislature has work to do in 2025 as Idaho currently supports public benefits for illegals in statute.
Attempts to ban providing public benefits to illegals were already thwarted during the 2024 legislative session. House Bill 615 would have prevented Idaho illegals from accessing free health care, housing, and nutrition programs. But the legislation died in the House Health and Welfare Committee.
Despite this setback, there should be some optimism for 2025. Key supporters of handouts for illegals lost their primary elections — like Reps. Megan Blanksma and Chenele Dixon. Idaho voters clearly support policies like H615.
Laying out the welcome mat for those who have no right to be here is bad policy. Economic incentives are powerful and the last thing we should be doing is incentivizing people to come to America the wrong way.
The Labrador office has taken charge of what they can to address the immigration crisis as it affects Idaho. It is time for the Legislature to take a stand too. Implementing policies similar to those in H615 is a must to eliminate the welcome mat and refocus our priorities on Idahoans. Otherwise, Idaho will be just as complicit in the immigration crisis as the Biden Administration.
