Episode #40 Deep Dive – The Nexus of ICE and Health Care
A deep dive into this week's episode of Paging America
››› Trump pretends to solve health care with “The Great Healthcare Plan”
Over a decade after Trump said he had a “much better” healthcare plan than “Obamacare” which would “cover everybody” and “save so much money”, he finally released his so-called great healthcare plan (it’s actually called “The Great Healthcare Plan”.) His “plan” has all the appearances of vaporware with a flashy website and nearly no details.
Under his “plan”, he says, “the prices of many drugs will be slashed by 300, 400 even 500%.” He takes credit for lowering the cost of insulin, something that happened under Biden, and says his plan will stop “sending big insurance companies billions in extra taxpayer-funded subsidy payments and instead send that money directly to eligible Americans to allow them to”, you guessed it, send it to insurance companies to buy health insurance.
On the drug pricing, NPR reported last week that Trump struck deals with 16 drug companies, but they’re still raising prices this year:
Since September, 16 major drug companies have inked deals with the Trump administration to lower prices. But in January — the time of year when pharmaceutical companies typically roll out price hikes — all 16 companies released higher list prices for some of their drugs.
[D]rug companies, including the 16 that made deals, raised the prices of 872 brand-name drugs in the first two weeks of 2026, according to a new analysis by 46brooklyn, a drug price research firm.
In truth, most of it is a rehash of failed Republican ideas from the past decade and a half. POLITICO calls it a “light-on-details proposal” that has almost no chance of getting through Congress and The Guardian quotes one expert who says “The ‘plan’ includes absolutely no detail.”
What is very clear is that Trump has been hearing from Republicans that health care is on the ballot in November and is very, very worried.
››› The nexus of ICE and health care is a scary place
standby, ready to be deployed, hospitals are reporting that ICE agents are menacing hospitals:
Health care workers in the Twin Cities report that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents are entering hospitals with detained individuals, sometimes with warrants and sometimes without, and they are frequently present during patient care.
Their presence is terrifying medical staff and raising concerns about patient safety, according to five nurses at Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis who asked to remain anonymous for fear of losing their jobs.
“A part of me wants to go on the news with my face and scream this at the top of my lungs,” an HCMC nurse said. “But I am very much right in the middle of this.”
It’s gotten so bad, CIDRAP reports, that Minnesota residents are delaying medical care for fear of encountering ICE.
In interviews, nurses, doctors and other health care workers said the crisis conditions brought on by the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown are wearing down overworked and understaffed medical institutions, and deteriorating patients’ trust in what are supposed to be safe havens. [...]
Over his 20 years as an emergency medicine physician, Dr. Robert LeFevere said, he had encountered law enforcement officers coming in with shooting victims and other patients.
“But federal agents barging into patient care areas trying to question or detain patients — I’ve never seen anything like that before,” said Dr. LeFevere, who works at Regions Hospital, a few blocks from the State Capitol in St. Paul.
There are also reports of ICE detainees not receiving proper medical care:
New concerns are being raised about medical care for ICE detainees housed inside an Ohio jail.
Advocates say immigrants held at the Butler County Jail are being denied critical medications [...]
Every week, Hillary Davis has been making a two-hour drive to the Butler County Jail with medicine in her hand…She’s bringing it to a family friend after he was picked up by ICE.
“There were drones flying around the area to find them, and they came into a house that they were working in and just took them,” said Davis. [...]
“He is a diabetic, and he wanted his medications, and he still has not received those medications,” said Davis. “We got his A1C down from a high level to a very low level, and now it’s in jeopardy.”
Advocates say he’s not alone.
Compounding the problem is the fact that ICE has reportedly stopped paying health care providers. Via Jed Legum at Popular Information:
Under the law, ICE is required to provide necessary medical care for this population.
While ICE employs some of its own medical staff, it often uses third-party providers. ICE’s Buffalo Federal Detention Facility, for example, houses over 500 detainees and has no doctor or dentist on staff.
ICE, however, has not paid any third-party providers for medical care for detainees since October 3, 2025. Last week, ICE posted a notice on an obscure government website announcing it will not begin processing such claims until at least April 30, 2026. Until then, medical providers are instructed “to hold all claims submissions.”
ICE’s failure to pay its bills for months has caused some medical providers to deny services to ICE detainees… In other cases, detainees have allegedly been denied essential medical care by ICE.
››› Dr. Oz thinks Alabama having no OB/GYNs in many of their counties is “pretty cool”
At a White House roundtable discussion about health care in rural America with President Donald Trump, RFK Jr., and other healthcare advisers, Dr. Oz, administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, said it’s “pretty cool” that they’re having to use robots to perform ultrasounds on pregnant people because of the shortage of OB/GYNs there:
TRANSCRIPT: “Alabama has no OBGYNs in many of their counties, so they’re doing something pretty cool. They’re actually having robots do ultrasounds on these pregnant moms so we can actually get those images back to the big center so we know if this child has a problem and we know if that mother is at risk. We have one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world in the country with the best medicine in the world…”
He was immediately derided for making light of the terrible situation of health care deserts in Alabama that mean patients of all kinds don’t have access to the health care they need on a day-to-day basis. The state ranks in the top five worst states for maternal deaths alongside other southern states.
Senator Bernie Sanders issued a statement saying, “No, Dr. Oz. It is not “cool” that we don’t have OBGYN’s in many rural counties in America. It is an international embarrassment. In the richest country on earth, we need more doctors, nurses, dentists and mental health counselors, not more robots.”
Run For Something president Amanda Litman was equally outraged, saying, “Hmm. Interesting twist on the way the near-total abortion ban in Alabama has resulted in a major doctor shortage. Just nauseated thinking about a family going to that first terrifying ultrasound and having a robot try and fail to find a viable pregnancy.”
››› RFK Jr. says Trump “has the constitution of a deity”
In an interview on The Katie Miller Podcast, RFK Jr. claimed the Trump “has the constitution of a deity”:
TRANSCRIPT: “The interesting thing about the president is that he eats really bad food, which is McDonald’s, and, you know, candy and Diet Coke. He drinks the Diet Coke at all times. He has the constitution of a deity.”
Links for a deeper dive on Episode #40
The White House: President Trump Unveils The Great Healthcare Plan to Lower Costs and Deliver Money Directly to the People
“The Great Healthcare Plan” website is HERE
NPR: Trump struck deals with 16 drug companies. But they’re still raising prices this year
POLITICO: Republicans will be hard-pressed to pass Trump’s ‘Great Healthcare Plan’
The Guardian: ‘Absolutely no detail’: experts alarmed as Trump unveils healthcare plan
STAT: Trump releases health care plan amid pressure over affordability
NBC News: Pentagon orders troops to prepare for possible Minnesota deployment
MPR News: ICE agents appear at Twin Cities hospitals, alarming health care workers
CIDRAP: Minnesota residents delay medical care for fear of encountering ICE
The New York Times: Inside Minnesota Hospitals, ICE Agents Unnerve Staff
Spectrum News 1: ICE detainees raise alarms over medical care, sheriff refutes claims
Popular Information: ICE has stopped paying for detainee medical treatment
Dr. Oz talking about fixing OB/GYN deserts in Alabama with robots is HERE
Sen. Bernie Sanders’ response to Dr. Oz is HERE
Amanda Litman’s response to Dr. Oz is HERE
RFK Jr. on The Katie Miller Podcast is HERE
POLITICO: RFK Jr. is bringing the GOP and the trial bar together
Minnesota Reformer: Minnesota doctors say immigration crackdown is forcing patients to hide, endangering lives
ABC News: Doctors in Minnesota decry fear and chaos amid Trump administration’s immigration crackdown
MedPage Today: Minnesota Doctors Decry Fear and Chaos Amid Trump’s Immigration Crackdown
Dr. Erin Stevens’ website is HERE
Dr. Erin Stevens on Instagram
Dr. Erin Stevens on TikTok