Left-wing publication the Chicago Tribune has admitted that thousands of illegal immigrants would lose access to free healthcare after Congress passed the landmark “Big, Beautiful Bill” Act. The outlet’s admission confirmed that the radical left was lying about illegal immigrants not having access to free healthcare.

“In Illinois, adult immigrants ages 42-64 without legal status have lost their health care to save an estimated $404 million,” the Tribune posted in X. 

In Illinois, adult immigrants ages 42-64 without legal status have lost their health care to save an estimated $404 million.https://t.co/DFqIYpIjds

— Chicago Tribune (@chicagotribune) July 19, 2025

While $404 million is basically a drop in the bucket, the new changes in healthcare programs would save roughly $800 billion in federal spending.

According to the Tribune, at least seven states provide free healthcare to illegal immigrants. However, a handful are considering ending or limiting coverage, which could affect hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens.

“But three of them have done an about-face, ending or limiting coverage for hundreds of thousands of immigrants who aren’t in the U.S. legally in California, Illinois and Minnesota.”

The outlet interviewed a Spanish-speaking immigrant in California who complained that free health care benefits for illegal aliens under the state’s Medicaid-type program Medi-Cal vanished overnight.

“It changed immensely, like from Earth to the heavens,” the immigrant said. “Having the peace of mind of getting insurance leads me to getting sick less.”

After the bill passed in both houses, Democrats, including former President Obama, blasted the move, saying that “millions of people” would lose their healthcare.

“Congressional Republicans are trying to weaken the Affordable Care Act and put millions of people at risk of losing their health care,” Obama said.

However, they never explained the categories of people who would be affected, which include able-bodied Americans who game the system by refusing to work and illegal immigrants. 

After the OBBB becomes law, many states will be forced to drop illegal immigrants as the federal government reduces funding matching from 90% to 80% for states that voluntarily cover undocumented individuals. 

While fourteen states cover illegal immigrants, some have Medicaid expansion “trigger” laws. Those triggers kick in if federal funding matching falls below the 90% threshold to cover the expanded demographics. Ironically, other Medicaid beneficiaries receive just 57% of federal subsidies.

States affected include Arizona, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Montana, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Utah, and Virginia. Up to 1.9 million illegal immigrants will stop receiving free healthcare.

California’s Medi-Cal provides health coverage, even for illegal immigrants. However, it has experienced deficits of up to $6.2 billion annually, forcing the state to regularly borrow to keep it afloat.

 The Golden State has over 235,000 illegal immigrants who are over 50 years old and qualify for taxpayer-funded free healthcare. In 2026, the state will stop accepting new non-citizens, which will affect over 200,000 people and save over $3 billion.

Americans spend about $18.5 billion per year to fund free healthcare for illegal immigrants nationally. That figure includes federally mandated Emergency Medicaid for illegal aliens, costing Americans about $8 billion per year, and uncompensated care costs amounting to over $10 billion annually.

In March 2025, former head of the Department of Government Efficiency Elon Musk found that millions of illegal immigrants had acquired Social Security Numbers, allowing them to benefit from social assistance programs and even vote.