TF
TruthOrFake
Fact Check: Estimates on U.S. healthcare spending for undocumented immigrants range from $10 billion to $23 billion annually, mainly for emergency services.

Fact Check: Estimates on U.S. healthcare spending for undocumented immigrants range from $10 billion to $23 billion annually, mainly for emergency services.

June 15, 2025•by TruthOrFake AI
±
VERDICT
Partially True

# Fact Check: Estimates on U.S. Healthcare Spending for Undocumented Immigrants ## What We Know The claim states that estimates on U.S. healthcare sp...

Fact Check: Estimates on U.S. Healthcare Spending for Undocumented Immigrants

What We Know

The claim states that estimates on U.S. healthcare spending for undocumented immigrants range from $10 billion to $23 billion annually, primarily for emergency services. According to a publication by Steven A. Camarota et al., it was estimated that allowing uninsured, low-income undocumented immigrants access to federally funded programs could cost taxpayers around $10 billion per year, with potential costs rising to as high as $23 billion if many chose not to enroll (source-1). This estimate reflects the financial implications of providing healthcare services to this population, particularly in emergency situations where they are often treated without insurance.

Analysis

The estimates of $10 billion to $23 billion are based on projections and assumptions about the healthcare needs of undocumented immigrants and their access to services. The lower end of the estimate ($10 billion) assumes a limited enrollment in federally funded programs, while the higher end ($23 billion) considers a scenario where many undocumented immigrants do seek care, leading to increased costs for emergency services (source-1).

Furthermore, a study analyzing the contributions of immigrants to the healthcare system found that undocumented immigrants contributed significantly more in premiums and taxes than what was spent on their care. In 2017, they contributed $58.3 billion more than insurers and the government paid for their healthcare, indicating that while undocumented immigrants do incur costs, they also provide substantial financial support to the healthcare system (source-2). This suggests that the financial burden of healthcare for undocumented immigrants might be offset by their contributions.

However, the reliability of the estimates can vary based on the methodologies used and the assumptions made regarding healthcare access and utilization. The estimates are derived from studies that may have limitations, such as the reliance on self-reported data or projections based on specific populations that may not fully represent the entire undocumented immigrant community.

Conclusion

The claim that estimates on U.S. healthcare spending for undocumented immigrants range from $10 billion to $23 billion annually is Partially True. While there is credible evidence supporting these figures, they are based on projections that depend on various assumptions about healthcare access and utilization. Additionally, the financial contributions of undocumented immigrants to the healthcare system complicate the narrative of them being solely a financial burden. Therefore, while the estimates are valid, they do not capture the complete picture of the economic impact of undocumented immigrants on U.S. healthcare.

Sources

  1. The Migrant Crisis and Access to Health Care - PMC. Link
  2. Assessment of Immigrants' Premium and Tax Payments for Health Care and ... Link
  3. Unauthorized Immigrants Prolong the Life of Medicare's ... Link
  4. CBO: Medicaid Spending on Illegal Aliens Has Cost ... Link
  5. Reducing the Health Care Burden Caused by Undocumented ... Link
  6. The Cost of the Border Crisis Testimony before the House ... Link
  7. PDF The Historic Dollar Costs of Dhs Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas' Open ... Link
  8. Newsom Proposes Scaling Back Health Care for Undocumented Immigrants in ... Link

Have a claim you want to verify? It's 100% Free!

Our AI-powered fact-checker analyzes claims against thousands of reliable sources and provides evidence-based verdicts in seconds. Completely free with no registration required.

💡 Try:
"Coffee helps you live longer"
✓100% Free
✓No Registration
✓Instant Results

Comments

Comments

Leave a comment

Loading comments...

More Fact Checks to Explore

Discover similar claims and stay informed with these related fact-checks

🔍
Partially True
🎯 Similar

Fact Check: There is no question Mark Carney is a brilliant business man and has a very impressive resume. But does he give a shit about you, and for that matter other Canadians? I didn't know anything about Mark Carney a couple of weeks ago and yesterday, I decided to do a little research project. This is what I discovered with about 1 hour of research. Lets take a bit of a dive in… Mark Carney is the UN special envoy on climate change pushing governments around the world to adopt “clean energy”. A great position, no? Interestingly, right up until he entered the Liberal leadership race, he also conveniently sat on the board of Brookfield Asset Management at the same time as he sat in this position with the UN. Brookfield owns $1 trillion in assets under management and many of their portfolios are across renewable power & infrastructure. Hmm, sounds a little conflicty? He has directly profited off of the shutting down and blocking of fossil fuel projects in Canada which he advised Canada to do (and other nations) while making sure so called “green energy” options are pushed and approved, which line his own pockets with green. One of Mark's acts as Chair of the board was to move the head office of Brookfield from Toronto to New York, because of the impending tariff war. Sounds like he has a lot of faith in his ability to put Canada first...and then he lied about the whole situation claiming that he was not chair when Brookfield moved. Maybe true, but he approved the move and voted for it at the first hint of tariffs from Trump, while he was still chair… Let’s look further at Mark’s role with Brookfield though. While he was doing all this “good work”, or rather making western governments do all this good work while he profits off of them, he was also directing Brookfield to act completely contrary environmentally when it suits the firm and their shareholders. While Brookfield manages green companies, they also acquire and invest in “dirty” fossil fuel projects and “carbon releasing” in other parts of the world. “One of Brookfield's collection of assets was 267,000 hectares in Brazil. producing soybeans, sugar, corn and cattle. between 2012 and 2021 Brookfield's subsidiaries deforested around 9,000 hectares on eight large farms in the Cerrado region of Brazil, a vast area bordering the Amazon rainforest. The report estimates that 600,000 tonnes of CO2 was emitted by deforesting these areas, the equivalent of 1.2 million flights from London to New York. A spokesperson for Brookfield said: "Brookfield made limited investments in Brazil's agriculture sector during the last decade. The decision to sell these businesses was taken several years ago because the fund they were held in was reaching the end of its life, and we therefore had an obligation to return capital to investors." Global Witness claims that this decision to sell clashes with public statements subsequently made by Mr. Carney as a global leader on climate policy, which call upon companies not to sell off climate-damaging assets, but to hold onto them and either clean them up or close them down”. - Ben King, BBC 15, Dec, 2022 They cut 9000 hectares of prime forest on the border of the Amazon to expand their GMO farming operations. Wow! How about the $16 billion acquisition of Inter Pipeline by Brookfield”? An oil pipeline, yes. Just two of the many "CO2 emitting" actions that Mark Carney has directed Brookfield on as Chair to the Board while he pushes green energy where it benefits his own books… A 2023 report on Brookfield by “Private Equity Climate Risks” paint a pretty bleak picture. "The combined current fossil fuel investments of Brookfield and Oaktree emit an estimated 159 million metric tons (mt) of CO2 equivalent (CO2e) annually. This is an order of magnitude more than the 11.8 million mt CO2e disclosed in Brookfield’s sustainability reports". So… will Carney be good for Canada? Well all of the above makes me think he is a wolf in sheep's clothing and let’s keep in mind he has been a close financial advisor to Trudeau since 2020. All of the great results of Trudeau’s tenure are the direct result of Carney. Doubling of house prices Record inflation Doubling of Canadians in the line of the food bank Our now crippling national debt and $60 billion deficit One of the biggest red flags for me is that Mark refuses to disclose his own personal financial situation. A guy who just a couple of months ago sat on 20 different corporate boards, including many American companies, promises he has a lot to gain by becoming PM. He is an ultra elite globalist who is 100% a part of the decisions that have led to Canada’s downfall and left us so vulnerable and if he remains as PM for any length of time, I feel Canada may end up bankrupt. The media will tell you that Mark is the guy to take on Trump, but the truth is not hard to uncover if you just do a little digging. Centrum

Detailed fact-check analysis of: There is no question Mark Carney is a brilliant business man and has a very impressive resume. But does he give a shit about you, and for that matter other Canadians? I didn't know anything about Mark Carney a couple of weeks ago and yesterday, I decided to do a little research project. This is what I discovered with about 1 hour of research. Lets take a bit of a dive in… Mark Carney is the UN special envoy on climate change pushing governments around the world to adopt “clean energy”. A great position, no? Interestingly, right up until he entered the Liberal leadership race, he also conveniently sat on the board of Brookfield Asset Management at the same time as he sat in this position with the UN. Brookfield owns $1 trillion in assets under management and many of their portfolios are across renewable power & infrastructure. Hmm, sounds a little conflicty? He has directly profited off of the shutting down and blocking of fossil fuel projects in Canada which he advised Canada to do (and other nations) while making sure so called “green energy” options are pushed and approved, which line his own pockets with green. One of Mark's acts as Chair of the board was to move the head office of Brookfield from Toronto to New York, because of the impending tariff war. Sounds like he has a lot of faith in his ability to put Canada first...and then he lied about the whole situation claiming that he was not chair when Brookfield moved. Maybe true, but he approved the move and voted for it at the first hint of tariffs from Trump, while he was still chair… Let’s look further at Mark’s role with Brookfield though. While he was doing all this “good work”, or rather making western governments do all this good work while he profits off of them, he was also directing Brookfield to act completely contrary environmentally when it suits the firm and their shareholders. While Brookfield manages green companies, they also acquire and invest in “dirty” fossil fuel projects and “carbon releasing” in other parts of the world. “One of Brookfield's collection of assets was 267,000 hectares in Brazil. producing soybeans, sugar, corn and cattle. between 2012 and 2021 Brookfield's subsidiaries deforested around 9,000 hectares on eight large farms in the Cerrado region of Brazil, a vast area bordering the Amazon rainforest. The report estimates that 600,000 tonnes of CO2 was emitted by deforesting these areas, the equivalent of 1.2 million flights from London to New York. A spokesperson for Brookfield said: "Brookfield made limited investments in Brazil's agriculture sector during the last decade. The decision to sell these businesses was taken several years ago because the fund they were held in was reaching the end of its life, and we therefore had an obligation to return capital to investors." Global Witness claims that this decision to sell clashes with public statements subsequently made by Mr. Carney as a global leader on climate policy, which call upon companies not to sell off climate-damaging assets, but to hold onto them and either clean them up or close them down”. - Ben King, BBC 15, Dec, 2022 They cut 9000 hectares of prime forest on the border of the Amazon to expand their GMO farming operations. Wow! How about the $16 billion acquisition of Inter Pipeline by Brookfield”? An oil pipeline, yes. Just two of the many "CO2 emitting" actions that Mark Carney has directed Brookfield on as Chair to the Board while he pushes green energy where it benefits his own books… A 2023 report on Brookfield by “Private Equity Climate Risks” paint a pretty bleak picture. "The combined current fossil fuel investments of Brookfield and Oaktree emit an estimated 159 million metric tons (mt) of CO2 equivalent (CO2e) annually. This is an order of magnitude more than the 11.8 million mt CO2e disclosed in Brookfield’s sustainability reports". So… will Carney be good for Canada? Well all of the above makes me think he is a wolf in sheep's clothing and let’s keep in mind he has been a close financial advisor to Trudeau since 2020. All of the great results of Trudeau’s tenure are the direct result of Carney. Doubling of house prices Record inflation Doubling of Canadians in the line of the food bank Our now crippling national debt and $60 billion deficit One of the biggest red flags for me is that Mark refuses to disclose his own personal financial situation. A guy who just a couple of months ago sat on 20 different corporate boards, including many American companies, promises he has a lot to gain by becoming PM. He is an ultra elite globalist who is 100% a part of the decisions that have led to Canada’s downfall and left us so vulnerable and if he remains as PM for any length of time, I feel Canada may end up bankrupt. The media will tell you that Mark is the guy to take on Trump, but the truth is not hard to uncover if you just do a little digging. Centrum

Mar 24, 2025
Read more →
Fact Check: $2 billion for military aid to Ukraine has been earmarked in supplementary estimates this week.
Needs Research
🎯 Similar

Fact Check: $2 billion for military aid to Ukraine has been earmarked in supplementary estimates this week.

Detailed fact-check analysis of: $2 billion for military aid to Ukraine has been earmarked in supplementary estimates this week.

Jun 14, 2025
Read more →
Fact Check: Estimates say President Trump's tariffs will result in more than $100 billion in new annual revenue to the United States!
Mostly False
🎯 Similar

Fact Check: Estimates say President Trump's tariffs will result in more than $100 billion in new annual revenue to the United States!

Detailed fact-check analysis of: Estimates say President Trump's tariffs will result in more than $100 billion in new annual revenue to the United States!

Mar 27, 2025
Read more →
Fact Check: The Congressional Budget Office estimates that immigrants will add approximately $1.2 trillion in federal revenues between 2024 and 2034.
True

Fact Check: The Congressional Budget Office estimates that immigrants will add approximately $1.2 trillion in federal revenues between 2024 and 2034.

Detailed fact-check analysis of: The Congressional Budget Office estimates that immigrants will add approximately $1.2 trillion in federal revenues between 2024 and 2034.

Jun 14, 2025
Read more →
Fact Check: Almost 100,000 people marched in Philadelphia during the protests against President Donald Trump on June 14, 2023, according to police estimates.
Partially True

Fact Check: Almost 100,000 people marched in Philadelphia during the protests against President Donald Trump on June 14, 2023, according to police estimates.

Detailed fact-check analysis of: Almost 100,000 people marched in Philadelphia during the protests against President Donald Trump on June 14, 2023, according to police estimates.

Jun 15, 2025
Read more →
Fact Check: Even conservative estimates say that 3.5 million people turned out for the Hands Off mobilization in April.
Partially True

Fact Check: Even conservative estimates say that 3.5 million people turned out for the Hands Off mobilization in April.

Detailed fact-check analysis of: Even conservative estimates say that 3.5 million people turned out for the Hands Off mobilization in April.

Jun 14, 2025
Read more →
Explore All Fact Checks
Fact Check: Estimates on U.S. healthcare spending for undocumented immigrants range from $10 billion to $23 billion annually, mainly for emergency services. | TruthOrFake Blog