California will become the first state in the nation to give illegal aliens taxpayer-funded health insurance.
Beginning on January 1, over 700,000 illegal aliens between the ages of 26 and 49 will be eligible for benefits, according to a report from ABC News — but all ages will be accepted.
Medi-Cal, the state version of the low-income federal Medicaid program, will cover the healthcare costs for foreign nationals.
ABC News reports:
Previously, undocumented immigrants were not qualified to receive comprehensive health insurance but were allowed to receive emergency and pregnancy-related services under Medi-Cal as long as they met eligibility requirements, including income limits and California residency in 2014.
In 2015, undocumented children were able to join Medi-Cal under a bill signed by then-Gov. Jerry Brown. In 2019, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law an expansion of full-scope Medi-Cal access for young adults ages 19 through 25, regardless of citizenship or immigration status. Access was then further expanded to allow older adults aged 50 and older to receive full benefits, also regardless of immigration status.
California State Sen. María Elena Durazo said in a statement in May, “This historic investment speaks to California’s commitment to health care as a human right.”
Governor Gavin Newsom told the outlet, “In California, we believe everyone deserves access to quality, affordable health care coverage – regardless of income or immigration status.”
“Through this expansion, we’re making sure families and communities across California are healthier, stronger, and able to get the care they need when they need it.”
The California Senate Republican Caucus has opposed the spending, writing:
“The Governor proposes to spend an additional $2.2 billion General Fund annually to expand Medi-Cal eligibility to roughly 764,000 undocumented individuals ages 26 through 49, starting in 2024. This would be the final expansion of Medi-Cal to the undocumented population after recent expansions to roughly 203,000 undocumented children and young adults (age 25 and under) and 235,000 undocumented older adults (age 50 and above). Medi- Cal is already strained by serving 14.6 million Californians—more than a third of the state’s population. Adding 764,000 more individuals to the system will certainly exacerbate current provider access problems.”
Then-President Donald Trump also panned the previous expansion that provided coverage to young adults in 2019.
“If you look at what they’re doing in California, how they’re treating people, they don’t treat their people as well as they treat illegal immigrants,” Trump said at the time. “So, at what point does it stop? It’s crazy what they’re doing. It’s crazy. And it’s mean, and it’s very unfair to our citizens.”
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