Kane County Reporter

Illinois State Sen. Don DeWitte (R-St. Charles) is criticizing the methods that state Democrats used to get new legislation passed that would expand Medicaid coverage for undocumented noncitizens.

House Bill 4343 was passed on the last day of the legislative session. The bill did not go through the typical legislative process - instead, it gained approval through a "working group." DeWitte has criticized both the process used to pass the bill, as well as the costs associated with the bill.

"It’s legislation like this run roughshod through the constitutional process that makes Illinois the laughing stock of the nation," DeWitte wrote in an April 22 Facebook post. "Hang on to your medical premiums folks. Who do the Dems think is going to pay for this? I’ll give you three guesses…"

The proposed legislation was passed via a "working group," which operates similarly to a committee, except that the hearings are not public, and even the members of the group are not publicly known, Shaw Local reported. Members of the Medicaid working group have spoken out, saying that the language concerning "noncitizens" was never discussed in the group. 

“We had a bipartisan group for the last three months, getting up at 7 o’clock in the morning for these meetings, with the agreement that all Medicaid expansions and increases were going to be working through this group,” State Sen. Dave Syverson (R-Cherry Valley) said in the Senate. “And then you turn around a couple hours after this agreement and you change the bill.”

HB 4343, an "omnibus" Medicaid bill, passed the Illinois General Assembly on the last day of the legislative session, Illinois Newsroom reported. The legislation includes a provision that would expand Medicaid coverage to undocumented noncitizens over the age of 42. Current federal law allows certain lawfully-present noncitizens Medicaid coverage, including refugees and green card holders.

Illinois became the first state to offer Medicaid coverage to undocumented noncitizens ages 65 and older in 2020, and state legislators lowered the age to 55 in 2021. The federal government will not reimburse coverage for these undocumented noncitizens, so with this latest age reduction, Illinois taxpayers will pay an estimated $68 million per year to provide Medicaid coverage for undocumented noncitizens.

According to the Migration Policy Institute (MPI), there were an estimated 425,000 undocumented immigrants living in Illinois as of 2019. The majority (75%) are between the ages of 25 and 54, and an estimated 52% of those immigrants are uninsured. 

HB 4343 is awaiting Gov. JB Pritzker's signature.