By some estimates there are anywhere between 12-20 million illegal immigrants in the United States today. Others say those numbers are much higher, with some estimates ranging as high as 40 million. The fact is that is impossible to know exactly how many illegals are in the country. But with the prospect of universal health care on the horizon the question begs to be asked, how much would covering illegal immigrants under such a plan cost the American taxpayer?

Despite many politicians claims that illegal immigrants would not be covered by universal health care, a little research reveals that they almost assuredly will, one way or another. It is well known that many illegals are currently enrolled in Medicaid, and that fraud in that program is rampant.

The AP has reported that Federal authorities recently arrested 32 people, some of them doctors, after an investigation undercovered a massive Medicaid fraud scheme involving illegal immigrants in four states, New York, Massachusetts, Louisiana and Texas. Other recent arrests have been made in a separate investigation in the Miami area.

The Medicaid Strike Force has recovered over $371 million in fraudulent Medicaid claims, charging 145 people in several targeted cities in just over two months. The July 29th arrests netted more than $16 million in false Medicaid claims in Houston alone. That came after agents acted on 12 search warrants at several different health care businesses and private homes.

These investigations are only some of the most recent, and represent just the tip of the iceberg. According to the Houston Chronicle, investigators in Houston say one of the major reasons Medicaid fraud is on the rise there is a steady increase in the number of illegal immigrants who consider scamming the government for benefits an acceptable practice.

“There’s a real problem of health care fraud in recent immigrant communities — we see it everyday,” one official said on condition of anonymity. “One of the reasons is you’re looking at people who don’t come up through the educational system, they’re impoverished, they think this country is very rich, and they don’t view taking advantage of a government program as a crime.”

In a previous article I mentioned H.R. 3693, a bill introduced by the Democrats that has greatly contributed to Medicaid fraud. Before that bill became law proof of citizenship was required when appying for Medicaid. H.R. 3693 changed that when it was passed in 2007. Now those enrolling in Medicaid are not even required to show identification. They need only to provide a name and Social Security number. State agencies are only required to determine if the name and number match an actual individual on file with the Social Security Administration. They are not required to determine if the person providing the name and number is a U.S. citizen, or even if they are actually who they claim to be. How many billions is that costing?

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