WASHINGTON ― As Republicans continue to hammer Democrats for shutting down the government supposedly over free health care for undocumented immigrants, they would prefer not to discuss the likely alternative: letting them die in hospital parking lots.
The undocumented can’t get Medicaid benefits, but federal law requires hospitals to provide lifesaving care to anyone with an emergency medical condition, regardless of their ability to pay or their immigration status.
At the White House on Thursday, a reporter asked press secretary Karoline Leavitt whether emergency room staff should be forced to determine the immigration status of people needing treatment.
“That’s probably not a question for me to answer,” Leavitt said. “I think that’s a question for health care professionals and legal experts.”
But it’s a question Vice President JD Vance himself raised Wednesday in the White House Briefing Room.
