Fetterman Urges U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to Pay Medical Service Providers

September 11, 2026 Fetterman Urges U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to Pay Medical Service Providers BRADDOCK, PA — Last week, U.S. Senator John Fetterman (D-PA) sent a letter to the Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), David J. Venturella, to note his concern with the lack of reimbursement to medical service providers for care provided to detainees, and to urge immediate repayment. “For more than two decades, ICE paid the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to process reimbursement claims for medical services related to immigration detention. This agreement, which came at no cost to the VA, allowed for timely and efficient payment of medical providers and ensured a responsible level of care for detainees and detention center staff. On October 3, 2025, the Veterans Affairs Administration (VA) and ICE abruptly terminated this decades-long contract. This action left ICE with no mechanism to process invoices and pay medical providers serving ICE facilities and detainees,” wrote Senator Fetterman. In the Commonwealth, Moshannon Valley Emergency Medical Services (MVEMS) is responsible for emergency medical care for over 40,000 Pennsylvanians. This includes nearly 2,000 detainees held at ICE’s Moshannon Valley Processing Center. Since payments ceased, MVEMS is now owed over $230,000. On January 13, ICE Health Service Corps announced plans to transition claims processing to a new electronic provider portal, with a launch date of April 30. As of now, providers remain unable to submit reimbursement claims for emergency responses initiated through 911 calls and other medical care provided to individuals in ICE custody or at ICE facilities. The continued delays raise serious concerns about access to timely emergency medical care for detainees, guards, custodial staff, administrators, and others at these facilities. “As MVEMS and medical service providers from across the Commonwealth continue to show up for their communities, ICE must also be a good neighbor. ICE should not and cannot rely on medical service providers like MVEMS to shoulder the financial and operational burden of federal immigration detention operations,” continued the senator. Read the full text of the letter below and here . – Dear Mr. Venturella: I am concerned about the non-payment of medical service provider invoices for care rendered to individuals in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and I demand that ICE immediately pay these bills. This inaction is creating economic hardship for medical service providers across rural Pennsylvania. Refusal to pay for these services hurts our communities and breaks financial obligations. For more than two decades, ICE paid the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to process reimbursement claims for medical services related to immigration detention. This agreement, which came at no cost to the VA, allowed for timely and efficient payment of medical providers and ensured a responsible level of care for detainees and detention center staff. On October 3, 2025, the Veterans Affairs Administration (VA) and ICE abruptly terminated this decades-long contract. This action left ICE with no mechanism to process invoices and pay medical providers serving ICE facilities and detainees. On January 13, 2026, ICE Health Service Corps announced it would begin processing claims through a new electronic provider portal. It was the expectation of the Department of Homeland Security and ICE that this portal would launch on April 30, 2026.2 It is now September and providers are still unable to submit reimbursement claims for 911 call-initiated responses and other care provided to individuals in the custody of or physically located at an ICE facility. This raises serious concerns about access to emergency treatment for detainees, guards, custodians, and administrators. ICE recognizes the danger this lapse in payments to providers creates. In contracting documents signed in October 2025 and made publicly available via the Systems Award Management website in November 2025, ICE states, “It is an absolute emergency for ICE to immediately procure claims processing support because lack of this support will delay critical medical care for [illegal aliens] such as dialysis, prenatal care, oncology, chemotherapy, etc. While payment delays adversely affect all providers, they are especially harmful to rural health and emergency care providers with limited staff, equipment, and financial reserves. Moshannon Valley Emergency Medical Services (MVEMS) is a rural EMS provider in Philipsburg, PA. MVEMS operates over an almost 800 square mile area and provides EMS service to 41,000 Pennsylvanians. They accomplish this every day with only 10 full-time employees, 35 part-time staff, and five ambulances. They also provide EMS services to the Moshannon Valley Processing Center, which is capable of holding nearly 1,900 detainees. As of August 20, 2025, I