CT GOP Leaders Call for Immediate Suspension of Free Healthcare for Undocumented Immigrants

Republican Leaders Call for Immediate Suspension of Free Healthcare for Undocumented Immigrants

House Republican Leader Vincent Candelora and Senate Republican Leader Stephen Harding today released the following statement on the state’s Medicaid cost crisis, calling for the suspension of Connecticut’s free undocumented immigrant healthcare:

“Connecticut faces a $200 million Medicaid crisis that threatens to drain resources from core government services and programs. A major contributor is taxpayer-funded healthcare for undocumented immigrants. Last fiscal year, this program blew past projections by nearly $10 million and is already on track to exceed this year’s budget by over $20 million—a figure likely even higher since summer estimates.

Now, with agency heads ordered to make cuts, we must act. Suspending this unsustainable, taxpayer-funded benefit right now is essential to preserving vital services for legal residents. Legislative Democrats dismissed our warnings last spring, deepening the crisis with Governor Lamont’s and Attorney General Tong’s support.

In one of the highest-taxed states in America, further expansion of free healthcare for undocumented immigrants, as many Democrats are poised to propose, is simply unrealistic. We must prioritize fiscal discipline, provide real tax relief for residents, and suspend this policy immediately with the goal of eliminating it in the next budget cycle. If the Governor is serious about financial stability, we have to suspend this policy now to stop the bleeding.”