US to increase oversight on Medicaid use for immigrant healthcare

May 27 (Reuters) - The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services said on Tuesday it will increase oversight to stop states from using Medicaid dollars to cover healthcare for illegal immigrants.

More than 71 million people are covered by Medicaid, a federal health insurance program for low-income Americans.

CMS is ramping up financial oversight across the board to identify and stop improper spending, the agency said.

U.S. President Donald Trump's tax and spending bill, which was passed earlier this month, excludes non-citizens from Medicaid and penalizes states that use their own funds to provide coverage to illegal immigrants.