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This bill — the Protect Medicaid Act — would prohibit federal money from being spent on administering state Medicaid benefits to non-citizens who break the law. If a state chooses to give Medicaid benefits to unauthorized immigrants, this bill would require that state to use its own money, rather than federal dollars, to pay for that benefit expansion.

This bill would also require the Dept. of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) to review and report on:

How states that provide Medicaid services to unauthorized immigrants keep federal and state dollars separate;
Whether states providing health benefits to unauthorized immigrants use tactics, like provider taxes and intergovernmental transfers, to launder federal dollars to offset the cost of providing benefits to this population; and
Whether people in the U.S. illegally benefit from covered outpatient drugs purchased under the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program and the 340B program, and whether this impacts the prices American citizens pay.

","official_title":"A bill to amend title XIX of the Social Security Act to prohibit Federal Medicaid funding for the administrative costs of providing health benefits to individuals who are unauthorized immigrants.","short_title":"Protect Medicaid Act","popular_title":null,"short_summary":"","summarized":true,"cost":null,"cost_commentary":"A CBO cost estimate is unavailable.","impact":"Unauthorized immigrants; state Medicaid programs; California; New York; federal Medicaid budget; and the HHS OIG.","argument_for":"States that choose to extend Medicaid benefits to unauthorized immigrants shouldn’t be allowed to use federal money to pay for these politically motivated initiatives that don’t have the support of other states’ taxpayers. 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Make your voice heard about the issues you care about.","page_title":"Budgets Legislation - Vote on Bills, Stay informed, Hold Your Reps Accountable","icons":{"black":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/budgets/black_budgets-1429042067.svg","grey":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/budgets/grey_budgets-1429042067.svg","white":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/budgets/white_budgets-1429042067.svg"},"cover_image_url":null,"is_following":false},{"id":"social-services","name":"Social Services","slug":"social-services","description":"Vote on the latest federal legislation regarding Social Services. 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Should Federal Tax Dollars Not Fund Medicaid Benefits for Unauthorized Immigrants?