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Illegals' Emergency Care Takes Toll on FL Medicaid

Leon County Judge John Cooper on June 30, 2022, in a screen grab from The Florida Channel.
AP
/
The Florida Channel
Leon County Judge John Cooper on June 30, 2022, in a screen grab from The Florida Channel.

Illegal immigrants aren't supposed to be covered under Medicaid except in emergencies. It turns out that emergency care adds up to a lot of money, as Phil Galewitz ofKaiser Health News reports.

A study by the Government Accountability Office says  the annual cost to Medicaid, counting both federal and state contributions, is $2 billion.  Data collected by Kaiser shows Florida spent $214 million on Emergency Medicaid for about 31,000 illegal immigrant patients in 2011. 

Originally founded in December 2006 as an independent grassroots publication dedicated to coverage of health issues in Florida, Health News Florida was acquired by WUSF Public Media in September 2012.