Photo: Alamy
A massive nationwide citizenship verification process has been launched by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).
CMS revealed the initiative in a press release on Tuesday, which states that the oversight initiative will verify “that enrollees in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) are U.S. citizens, U.S. nationals, or have a satisfactory immigration status.”
States will be subject to monthly enrollment reports targeting enrollees with unverifiable eligibility statuses at the federal level. Each state is expected to review these reports and do its own investigation to confirm or adjust eligibility in compliance with non-citizen eligibility rules.
The press release noted that the first set of reports was sent out on Tuesday and should be received by every state within the month.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. was quoted in the release, stating, “We are tightening oversight of enrollment to safeguard taxpayer dollars and guarantee that these vital programs serve only those who are truly eligible under the law.”
In 2024, U.S. House Budget Chair Jody Arrington released a Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report on Medicaid Spending on Illegal Aliens under Border Czar Kamala Harris. It found that $16.2 billion in state and federal funding was spent on “Medicaid-funded emergency services to illegal aliens during the first three years of the Administration.”
Then, in April, The Heritage Foundation reported that the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) discovered that 1.3 million illegal immigrants were receiving taxpayer-funded Medicaid benefits.
The new CMS oversight initiative seeks to reestablish Medicaid rules across the nation and ensure that only eligible Americans receive benefits.