By The Craig Bushon Show Media Team
The government shutdown that began at 12:01 a.m. on October 1, 2025, is still underway, and the fight in Washington is growing sharper by the day. Yesterday we laid out the stakes: taxpayer-funded healthcare for citizens versus noncitizens. Today, we now see even more clearly how the issue has become tangled in technical terms, loopholes, and backdoor expansions of eligibility.
At the heart of this battle is not just whether undocumented immigrants can receive benefits. The deeper fight is over how the law defines “qualified aliens” and “lawfully present” immigrants. Those categories have been stretched over time to include millions of people who entered illegally but were granted parole, temporary status, or other designations that open the door to taxpayer-funded healthcare.
Speaker Mike Johnson says Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” was designed to tighten eligibility. It limited federal healthcare benefits to citizens, green card holders, and a handful of special groups. Democrats want to repeal those restrictions and restore the broader list of who qualifies.
Senator Chuck Schumer argues that the law already bans undocumented immigrants from Medicare, Medicaid, or ACA subsidies. On paper, that’s true. But Speaker Johnson points out that millions of migrants have been paroled into the country under the Biden administration — more than 2.8 million by DHS’s own numbers — and parole status qualifies them as “lawfully present” for the purposes of benefits.
That’s the crux of the fight. Democrats claim nobody is breaking the law. Republicans argue the law is being twisted to cover people who crossed illegally but were reclassified through parole or temporary programs. Both sides are technically right, which is why the disagreement has brought the government to a halt.
The category of “qualified aliens” is much larger than most people realize. It includes permanent residents, refugees, asylees, victims of trafficking or domestic violence, and people whose deportation has been withheld. It also covers certain Cubans, Haitians, and citizens of Micronesia and the Marshall Islands.
But the most important expansion is parolees. Parolees are individuals who entered illegally but were granted temporary entry for humanitarian or policy reasons. That one designation has transformed millions of illegal entrants into “lawfully present” residents who can apply for Medicaid, ACA subsidies, and other benefits.
Even the Affordable Care Act Marketplace defines “lawfully residing” broadly, covering people with work visas, student visas, deferred action, and other temporary statuses. In California, the rules go further: even applying for Temporary Protected Status can be enough to qualify for Medi-Cal.
California’s Medi-Cal program is the most visible example of where this leads. As of January 2024, it provides full coverage — doctor visits, prescriptions, mental health, dental, vision, specialists — to undocumented adults ages 26 to 49. Nearly 2 million undocumented residents are eligible, costing the state more than $4 billion a year. All of it is funded by state taxpayers, since federal law does not allow matching funds for undocumented coverage.
That money comes from the same Medi-Cal budget that covers citizens. Seniors and veterans face longer waits. Clinics are overcrowded. And other priorities — schools, housing, infrastructure — are forced to compete with this new spending.
California also interprets “lawfully present” more broadly than most, counting TPS applicants as eligible even before their status is resolved. This opens the door to even more costs and sets a precedent other states are beginning to copy.
Oregon’s Healthier Oregon program covers all income-eligible residents regardless of status. Washington State’s Apple Health expansion added 13,000 undocumented adults but quickly hit its cap. Colorado’s OmniSalud subsidizes private insurance for undocumented residents but faces legal challenges. Illinois overspent on its noncitizen program by almost 400%, forcing enrollment freezes and cuts. Washington, D.C. faces a Medicaid shortfall so large it plans to phase out adult coverage by 2027.
These states show the pattern: once coverage is expanded, costs balloon, services for citizens are strained, and lawmakers look to Washington to pick up the tab.
This is the background to the shutdown. Democrats are demanding that Trump’s restrictions be repealed and the broader eligibility list restored. Republicans are refusing, saying that would permanently redirect healthcare funding away from citizens. Neither side is willing to give in, so the government remains closed.
The data is unclear on exactly how many noncitizens are enrolled in Medicaid or ACA plans today. Alarmingly, the federal government does not keep transparent records on parolees, TPS applicants, and other temporary categories. But the number is growing, and the costs are real. That uncertainty makes the fight even more intense, because lawmakers are arguing without solid numbers in hand.
For everyday Americans, the trade-offs are easy to see. When California spends $4 billion on undocumented healthcare, that money is not available for veterans’ clinics, for seniors who need specialists, or for schools and infrastructure. Illinois and D.C. are already showing what happens: costs spiral, services are cut, and citizens are left waiting longer or paying more.
Shutdowns themselves are expensive — about $15 billion a week in lost GDP. But they are temporary. Expanding entitlements to millions more noncitizens would be permanent, and the costs would only grow.
Both sides are dug in. Democrats argue for compassion and fairness. Republicans argue for priorities and fiscal sanity. Until one side bends, the government will stay shut. But the bigger issue is not how long this shutdown lasts. The bigger issue is what rules will govern healthcare access when it ends.
Will federal healthcare programs remain focused on citizens? Or will the definition of “lawfully present” keep expanding until nearly anyone who files paperwork qualifies? That is what this shutdown is really about.
This is the question Americans must face: are citizens still first in their own country’s healthcare system? Shutdowns are painful, but they end. Permanent entitlements do not. Once expanded, they are nearly impossible to roll back.
California shows what happens when states go down this road. Illinois and D.C. show what happens when the bills come due. If Washington caves now, the same story will play out nationally — and it will be citizens who pay the price.
Washington will strike a deal. But the real cost will be who pays the price after the ink is dry.
Disclaimer: This editorial reflects the opinion of The Craig Bushon Show Media Team. It is not legal or financial advice.
Sources: The Epoch Times; Department of Homeland Security; Congressional Budget Office; California DHCS; ACA Marketplace; Oregon Health Authority; Washington State Health Care Authority; Illinois HFS audit; D.C. budget reports; AP; Politico; Reuters; Washington Post; CBS News; WhiteHouse.gov; Senate/House records.
