Think Progress: No, Undocumented Immigrants Aren’t A Burden On The Health Care System
media mentionUndocumented immigrants provided a surplus of $35.1 billion to the Medicare Trust Fund between 2000 and 2011, according to a new Journal of General Internal Medicine study recently published. The findings challenge concerns that undocumented immigrants are financially burdening the health care system.
Beyond Medicare, undocumented immigrants incur an estimated $5.5 billion in non-Medicare publicly funded health care expenses annually, but they also contribute to state and local taxes that help to offset those expenses. An Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy study found that undocumented immigrants paid an estimated $10.6 billion in 2010.