Denver, Colorado, a self-described “sanctuary city,” has cared for more than 41,000 illegal immigrants over the past two years. The new arrivals have drained city resources and led to resentment from locals. The same can be said for other blue cities across the United States. This Washington Examiner series, Cost of the Migrant Crisis , will investigate the strain on cities, schools, and healthcare within Denver in particular. Part Three is about the pressure on hospitals. To read Part Two on schools, click here . To read Part One , click here .
DENVER — Denver Health has been living on the financial edge for years.
The city’s 164-year-old safety net hospital , which has been running on margins that would make other hospitals sick, reported 20,000 visits made by illegal immigrants in 2023, which came out to $10 million in uncompensated care. The hospital provided $140 million in total care they were either not reimbursed for or only received a fraction of the cost from government programs.