Blue State Advances Bill To Extend State-Funded Health Insurance To Illegal Immigrants

SB 231, also called the “Cover All Kids” Act, advanced out of the Virginia Senate committee on Finance and Appropriations, according to legislative records. The law, if passed, would “provide state-funded comprehensive health care coverage” to low-income individuals under the age of 19 who would otherwise be eligible for such programs “but for their immigration status.”

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Republican state Sen. Todd E. Pillion was the sole Republican to support advancing the measure. Pillion did not immediately respond when asked by the Daily Caller News Foundation to explain his vote.

The bill also includes protections to ensure that information collected by the state to give illegal immigrants healthcare would not be used by an immigration enforcement agency unless it presents a valid judicial order, subpoena or warrant.

Additionally, the bill mandates the creation of a task force to reach out to eligible illegal immigrants and encourage them to apply for the state-funded healthcare program through marketing and outreach activities.

“Every child throughout the Commonwealth, regardless of income, immigration status, and background should have access to quality, comprehensive healthcare,” Democratic Virginia state Sen. Ghazala Hashmi, who voted to advance the bill, said.

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Republican state Sen. Glen Sturtevant, who opposes the bill, told Fox News Digital that it could “cost Virginia taxpayers more than $100 million just in this decade.”

Virginia wouldn’t be the first blue state to transfer large sums of taxpayer dollars to illegal immigrants.

Washington state doled out over $312 million in cash transfers to illegal immigrants in 2022 as a form of COVID-19 relief. California, meanwhile, made the state’s version of Medicare accessible to illegal immigrants as of Jan. 1.

If passed, the bill would ultimately be subject to Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s veto.

The governor’s office did not immediately respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.

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