Feds investigate Colorado's spending on health care for undocumented immigrants

DENVER — The Trump administration and now Congress have launched investigations into Colorado’s spending on health care for undocumented immigrants.

Earlier this year, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that it was increasing oversight of states that misuse federal Medicaid funds to provide healthcare coverage to undocumented immigrants.

“Medicaid is not, and cannot be, a backdoor pathway to subsidize open borders,” said CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz. “States have a duty to uphold the law and protect taxpayer funds. We are putting them on notice — CMS will not allow federal dollars to be diverted to cover those who are not lawfully eligible.”

CMS sent a data request to the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing (HCPF), which manages