Rush Limbaugh conflated the constitutional right to vote with access to health care, using undocumented immigrants and their lack of health care to attack the Obama administration and mock criticism of voter ID laws. He also falsely asserted that the Affordable Care Act covers undocumented immigrants.

On his radio show, Limbaugh attacked the Obama administration as hypocritical for requiring proof of eligibility to access health care under the ACA while suing Arizona following the state's 2010 discriminatory “show me your papers” law. The Arizona law included a provision requiring state and local police officers to check the immigration status of anyone they suspected of being in the country illegally.

Limbaugh stated that it “is outrageous that you need a photo ID to get medical treatment,” adding, “Where is the social justice? What are you trying to do, kill all the minorities?” He continued:

LIMBAUGH: You know what they're trying to do, they're trying to keep minorities from going to the doctor. This is doctor suppression. By requiring a photo ID to go to the - well if that's what they say about elections. If you need a photo ID to go vote -- Jesse Jackson says that's voter suppression. Well this is not just suppression. They're trying to keep minorities from getting treated.

He went on to falsely claim that the ACA already covers undocumented immigrants.

In fact, undocumented immigrants and legal immigrants who have been in the country less than five years are not covered under the ACA. As the National Immigration Law Center noted, these residents are not even allowed access to the health care exchanges to purchase private insurance at full cost. They are not eligible for subsidized health care or Medicare, nonemergency Medicaid, or the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP). 

Immigrant activists and health care experts have repeatedly cited these facts as vital reasons to pass immigration reform. This population is one of the most vulnerable when it comes to health care. In fact, almost 7 million of the uninsured are undocumented immigrants, but Limbaugh chose to mock their plight to make a point about discriminatory voter ID laws.

Limbaugh has made similar statements in the past, claiming in September 2012 that requiring IDs at the Democratic National Convention meant that “apparently Democrats are trying to suppress their own delegates.” This was also repeated on Fox News, where hosts complained Democrats were guilty of a “double standard” for requiring press to show ID at the DNC, a security measure to protect the president of the United States.