Newsom, California To Provide Healthcare To Illegal Migrants
On January 1, 2024, California is set to become the first state in the nation to offer taxpayer-funded health insurance to all “undocumented” illegal immigrants. The new policy spearheaded by Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) marks a significant shift in the healthcare landscape, not just for California but potentially as a precedent for other parts of the United States.
This week, Newsom celebrated the state budget agreement that makes the massive expansion of taxpayer-funded healthcare possible. California’s Medi-Cal program has seen its coverage expand steadily since 2015, starting with undocumented children and gradually extending to different age groups. The latest expansion, which includes undocumented immigrants between the ages of 26 and 49, is expected to bring more than 700,000 new recipients into the program.
California State Senate Republicans have raised concerns about the strain this expansion will place on the already burdened Medi-Cal system, which serves over a third of the state’s population. Adding a large number of newly covered individuals to this system is predicted to make the system’s current backlogs and delays in providing essential care more pronounced.
The expansion is expected to cost $2.6 billion annually. The additional cost comes as reports have recently shown California’s most recent budget deficit came in at a massive $68 billion. The deficit figure as reported by the Legislative Analyst’s Office far outstrips the initial $14.3 billion deficit estimate for the last fiscal year.
According to a study in the International Journal of Health Services, this demographic is less likely to utilize healthcare services when they have to pay for what they receive. Now, California will remove the out-of-pocket cost for care, ensuring the demand for services will skyrocket.
As the Golden State continues to hemorrhage taxpaying citizens and businesses to more free and fiscally sound red states, the state is now experiencing the first annual net population losses in its long history. The Democratic Party and the Newsom administration appear fully committed to placating the residents who are left and the immigrants it can attract in order to cement its political hold on state government.
