ST. PAUL 鈥� The Minnesota Catholic Conference spoke out against defunding health care for undocumented immigrants on Monday, May 12, as the Health Finance budget bill passed the House without a resolution on the hot-button issue.
Lawmakers and Gov. Tim Walz have said in the last few weeks of the legislative session that is a sticking point in budget negotiations with a divided Legislature. The Minnesota Legislature expanded coverage in 2023 for undocumented immigrants under MinnesotaCare 鈥� the state鈥檚 health care program established in 1992 鈥� but now Republicans want to roll it back.
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The House鈥檚 Health Finance bill 鈥� passed 95-38 on Monday afternoon and includes $3 billion in total appropriations 鈥� excludes any policy change on undocumented immigrant health care.
Jeff Backer, co-chair of the Health Finance Committee, said Monday that leaders decided to take MinnesotaCare coverage policy out of the bill, but that the issue could be put back in once leaders come to a budget agreement.
鈥淪ometimes it鈥檚 wise just to set things aside, get other things taken care of, and then come back to it,鈥� Backer said. 鈥淭he road map is not 100% clear. What is clear is that Minnesotans are very frustrated at paying for undocumented immigrants 鈥� Our health care system is fragile; if we don鈥檛 take care of that 鈥� our health care system goes into cardiac arrest.鈥�
On Monday morning, the Minnesota Catholic Conference, joined by Auxiliary Bishop Kevin Kinney, Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, and Jason Adkins, executive director of the Minnesota Catholic Conference, held a press conference urging lawmakers not to roll back the coverage for undocumented immigrants.
Kinney said this debate is a matter of 鈥渄ignified existence,鈥� and quoted the late Pope Francis that 鈥渋mmigrants are sometimes treated like pawns on the chessboard of humanity.鈥�
鈥淩efusing to provide access to health insurance and other services based solely on one鈥檚 legal status is a simplistic and blunt approach to a more complex problem,鈥� Kinney said.
The U.S. House released a proposal this week that would for states that allow coverage for undocumented immigrants. It鈥檚 unclear whether this would affect MinnesotaCare, as it鈥檚 a state-funded program.
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Walz, at an unrelated event Monday, said his 鈥渞ed line鈥� on the issue is health care for children. He said it鈥檚 smarter financially to fund health care for undocumented immigrants because the state is 鈥減aying for this anyway,鈥� when people have emergency room visits, for example.
鈥淚f they break an arm or get hurt at work or something, they go,鈥� Walz said. 鈥淚 made it clear for me, that I just think you鈥檝e got to cover children. Those children 鈥� they didn鈥檛 make the choice, and whether you disagree with the choice 鈥� these children need to get health care.鈥�
Kinney said Monday that he agrees with Walz that it鈥檚 important to care for children, but the potential for a budget deal that gives coverage for children alone raises other questions.
鈥淚f a parent should get sick and die because they don鈥檛 have access to health care? Who鈥檚 going to then care for the children or the elderly?鈥� Kinney said.
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