Pritzker Defends Decision to Stop New Enrollment in Immigrant Health Care Program
Governor JB Pritzker stands in front of U.S. Senator Dick Durbin at a news conference Monday in Chicago.
NOTE: This story was originally posted for subscribers only. To receive subscriber-only newsletters and content, click here.
As his first serious brush with is progressive base continues, Governor JB Pritzker Monday continued to defend his decision to pause new enrollment in a health insurance program for immigrants in the country illegally.
Pritzker is freezing enrollment in the program after the legislature budgeted half the amount predicted the program would require, $550 million instead of $1.1 billion, and gave Pritzker the “tools” to manage costs of the program.
Pritzker decided to pause enrollment in the program, leaving some frustrated Latinos feeling “blindsided” by the decision.
But Pritzker, at an unrelated event Monday, blamed the legislature for passing a budget that necessitated the pause.
“The General Assembly provided $550 million for this program for FY24. That’s about $300 million more than we had originally proposed in our budget,” Pritzker said. “We need to make sure that we are living within our fiscal limits, you know, within the state of Illinois.”
A frustrated Democrat we spoke to Monday afternoon said Pritzker’s response “sounded like a Republican.”
Tensions appear to be calming with some Democrats, as Congressman Jesus “Chuy” Garcia (D-Chicago), who previously said the program change would have “life-and-death consequences” stook with Pritzker during the announcement at Union Station Monday.
Pritzker said Monday he believed the program will help immigrants in need.
“If people can get preventative care, it keeps us from spending more money later on, and, of course, keeps people healthy. That’s my goal,” Pritzker said. “That’s the goal of the Latino caucuses and of the broader community of advocates. We have to do it within the limits of our revenues and making sure that we’re balancing the budget.”
Pritzker plans to close enrollment for people age 41-64 next week and capping the total number of seniors in the program, as well.
The program does not cover migrants who are legally seeking asylum in the United States. It generally includes immigrants who are not in the country legally.
