Pa. Republicans caught lying about why the government is shutdown

Republicans have resorted to blaming undocumented immigrants for the ongoing government shutdown, even though they are ineligible to receive subsidized health care under the Affordable Care Act. 

Republicans in three of Pennsylvania’s most competitive congressional districts have started spreading the same talking points that Democrats shut down the federal government in order to give undocumented immigrants health care benefits. 

That is false.

Ahead of the shutdown, Democrats in the US House and Senate said they would vote for a spending bill that extended the Enhanced Premium Tax Credits, which help millions of Americans purchase health care through the Affordable Care Act (ACA), but are set to expire at the end of the year.

Republicans refused. Instead of extending the tax credits, which 78% of Americans support, or even negotiating over them, Republicans in Congress allowed the government to shut down, and are now blaming immigrants. 

Here’s what you need to know:

Who is eligible for health care under Pennie?

Only US citizens, nationals and those who are lawfully present are eligible for health and dental plans through Pennie, the commonwealth’s health care marketplace. 

According to Pennie’s website, immigrants who are lawfully present in the country include those who have: 

• “Qualified non-citizen” immigration status without a waiting period.
• Humanitarian statuses or circumstances (including Temporary Protected Status, Special Juvenile Status, asylum applicants, Convention Against Torture, victims of trafficking).
• Valid non-immigrant visas.
• Legal status conferred by other laws (temporary resident status, LIFE Act, Family Unity individuals).

“The law is clear. Only US citizens and lawfully present individuals can enroll in coverage through the health insurance marketplace and receive premium tax credits,” Pennie Executive Director Devon Trolley said in a statement. 

“We follow all requirements to verify citizenship and lawful presence with federal data from the US Social Security Administration and the US Department of Homeland Security, which are the sources of truth for this information.” 

What the Republicans are saying

US Reps. Rob Bresnahan (R-Luzerne), Ryan Mackenzie (R-Lehigh), and Scott Perry (R-York) have all claimed in media interviews or in social media posts that undocumented immigrants receiving health care is the reason why the government is shut down. 

Bresnahan was asked on a local podcast if “funding health care for illegal migrants that are here in this country illegally” was the main reason for Democrats shutting down the government. He replied by saying “that is accurate.” 

It is not. 

Pierce Frauenheim, Bresnahan’s Chief of Staff, also scapegoated immigrants after Action Together NEPA held a rally outside of Bresnahan’s Scranton office. 

“It’s a shame that far-left Democrats are holding vital federal services for seniors and paychecks for our troops hostage over their obsession with giving taxpayer-funded healthcare to illegal immigrants,” Frauenheim said in a statement. 

Again, that’s not what’s happening. Democrats want to extend the subsidies that help more than 420,000 Pennsylvanians afford health care. It’s those people who will either lose coverage or see their premiums double or triple if those subsidies aren’t extended

And yet Mackenzie appeared on One America News Network and claimed that Democrats voted against tightening eligibility requirements.

“This discussion about benefits for illegal immigrants in my opinion really stems from the fact that in the most recent reconciliation package we put in much tighter eligibility requirements and checks that would be in place, not only for work requirements but those unlawfully here in the country, and Democrats say they don’t want that, they want the doors blown wide open, everybody should be getting coverage,” Mackenzie said.  

That’s not even remotely true. Democrats voted against tighter work requirements for Medicaid recipients because they’ve been shown to create enough bureaucratic red tape that people often lose coverage despite being eligible.

Finally, prior to the shutdown, Perry posted multiple times on X accusing Democrats of giving undocumented immigrants health care and in one instance, accused US Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-New York) of giving undocumented immigrants $1.5 trillion in health care.

Again, not true.

As Rolling Stone reported earlier this week, many of the Republican talking points on health care and the shutdown, especially the claim that Democrats set aside $1.5 trillion in health care for undocumented immigrants, are false. 

According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, a non-profit organization that focuses on health policy, most federal health care dollars cannot be spent on people who are undocumented immigrants, meaning they cannot enroll in Medicaid or Medicare or purchase health care through the Affordable Care Act (ACA).  

What will happen if the ACA tax credits expire

Nearly 500,000 Pennsylvanians purchase their health care through Pennie, and 85% of those customers rely on the Enhanced Premium Tax Credits to keep their insurance affordable. 

Up to 250,000 Pennie customers could lose their coverage if these tax credits expire and premiums across the state will rise by an average of 82%.

Premiums are expected to rise by 71% in Bresnahan’s district, 80% in Mackenzie’s district and a whopping 170% in Perry’s district, according to Pennie.  

Bresnahan, Mackenzie, and Perry’s offices all declined to provide comment for this story. 

“It is clear that Republicans have no plan to fix rising premium costs” Alisha Hoffman-Mirilovich, Executive Director of Action Together NEPA and a Bresnahan constituent, said in a statement.

“To state that the demand being made to end the shutdown is that undocumented immigrants get free healthcare is disgusting,” she said. “Our representatives absolutely know that the claim they are making is untrue, and it is disgusting that they continue to repeat it instead of pushing back on attacks on immigrants and standing up for their own constituents who are just trying to afford the care they need.”