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EXCLUSIVE: The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is pointing to new data from the state of California that shows the cost of taxpayer-funded ambulance transport potentially rising by 383%.
The Trump administration is using the shocking statistic to further blast Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom for providing healthcare services through state-funded Medi-Cal and federally funded Medicaid to illegal immigrants.
DHS and the White House have both been critical of illegal migrants receiving healthcare benefits, mainly through emergency services. The topic served as the center of discourse that contributed to the recent government shutdown.
“President Trump consistently promised to protect Medicaid for eligible beneficiaries,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told Fox News Digital. “To keep that promise after Joe Biden flooded our country with tens of millions of illegal aliens, CMS and DHS are exploring an initiative to ensure that illegal aliens are not receiving Medicaid benefits that are meant for law-abiding Americans.”
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DHS is slamming California Gov. Gavin Newsom for providing Medi-Cal and Medicaid benefits to illegal migrants, while new data shows ambulance reimbursement costs have surged by up to 382% in the Golden State. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images; Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
“California should understand this principle pretty well by now, since they had to announce they were freezing Medi-Cal enrollment for illegal immigrants earlier this year,” McLaughlin added.
In May, Newsom announced a plan to freeze new Medi-Cal enrollment for illegal migrants beginning in 2026.
The California governor subsequently announced his intention to charge illegal migrants who are already enrolled in the program a premium beginning in July 2027.
The far-left state assembly debated some of these measures, but it ultimately passed a budget that reflects Newsom’s changes to Medicaid for undocumented adult Medi-Cal recipients. The California governor originally wanted $100 a month for illegal migrants receiving benefits, but Democrat-led assembly members lowered the premium to just $30.
People in Tijuana, Mexico, look through the U.S.-Mexico border wall at Border Field State Park on Aug. 17, 2025, in Imperial Beach, Calif. (Photo by Kevin Carter/Getty Images)
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Undocumented adults who are not yet enrolled in Medi-Cal will not be eligible beginning in 2026.
With illegal migrants mainly receiving Medicaid through emergency services, one area that specifically costs taxpayers is ambulance transportation.
Since 2022, the cost of taxpayer-funded ambulances has risen from $339 per transport to $1,168 per transport in 2024 in the Golden State, according to data collected by the California Department of Health Care Services.
The state of California has submitted two requests to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) that, if approved, would increase ambulance transportation to $1,597 in 2025 and $1,637 in 2026, a roughly 382% increase.
The department did not specifically attribute the rise to healthcare for illegal immigrants, but DHS signaled a potential correlation.
DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said the agency is working alongside CMS to explore “an initiative to ensure that illegal aliens are not receiving Medicaid benefits that are meant for law-abiding Americans.” (DHS; ICE )
DHS also addressed the Trump administration’s wish to obtain specific information about illegal migrants who are already enrolled or who are receiving healthcare benefits.
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“This information sharing is essential to identify who is in our country, including violent criminals, determine what public safety and terror threats may exist so we can neutralize them and identify what public benefits these aliens are using at taxpayer expense,” McLaughlin told Fox News Digital.
“California Democrats, like Gavin Newsom, should stop putting illegal aliens over Americans,” McLaughlin added.
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California also receives federal financial Medicaid assistance through means of intergovernmental transfers (IGTs), a sort of loophole that allows the state to beef up its Medicaid spending, which is then matched by federal tax dollars.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom pushed back on illegal immigrants receiving healthcare earlier this year. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
IGTs allow local governments like counties and public hospitals to send money to the state that the state then claims as Medicaid spending. The federal government matches the state’s spending under the inflated amount, DHS explained.
States can then return the funds originally issued to them by local entities, while keeping federal taxpayer dollars.
IGTs can arguably contribute to inflated ambulance costs. Private providers are locked in at a rate of $339, while public, taxpayer-funded transport has been grossly inflated in California.
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DHS alleges the loophole is fueled by taxpayers across the country and is being used to pay for healthcare for illegal migrants.
While the complex loophole to raise more funding for Medicaid is used in other states as well, California’s large number of illegal migrants makes it an easy target for DHS and the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal migrants.
Fox News Digital reached out to Newsom’s office but did not immediately hear back.
Preston Mizell is a writer with Fox News. Story tips can be sent to [email protected] and on X @MizellPreston
