Overview
- ICE Health Service Corps instructed medical providers to hold all claims until a new contractor, Acentra, begins processing on the earliest date of April 30, with payments potentially slipping into late May.
- An administration source reports some providers are refusing services and detainees have been denied essential treatment as unpaid bills accumulate.
- The detained population has grown from fewer than 40,000 in January 2025 to more than 73,000, increasing reliance on off-site doctors, hospitals, and pharmacies.
- Internal data show the VA processed $246.4 million in claims in 2024 but only $157.2 million in 2025 despite higher detention levels, indicating roughly a $300 million gap between needed care and payments.
- A Senate inquiry led by Jon Ossoff found 85 credible medical neglect cases in 2025, and separate reporting notes deaths in ICE custody surged late last year and continued into January.