California To Become First State To Offer Health Insurance To All Undocumented Adults

For the first time, undocumented immigrants of all ages will be eligible for Medi-Cal, California's federal government's Medicaid program for low-income people.

These new guidelines will make California the only state to fund comprehensive health care for undocumented immigrants starting January 1, 2024.

“This historic investment demonstrates California's commitment to health care as a human right,” said Sen. Maria Elena Duraz (D-Los Angeles) in a statement.

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Gov. Gavin Newsom announced in May that a new budget deal with the Legislature would expand Medi-Cal to more undocumented adults.

According to Senator Duraz, the expansion of this program is expected to provide health insurance to approximately 700,000 residents aged 26 to 49 years.

In 2015, the state began allowing undocumented children to receive Medi-Cal health services, and then in 2019 eligibility criteria were expanded to include children under 26.

In May 2022, California law allowed undocumented people aged 50 and over to receive health services under this program.

However, Medi-Cal's expansion plans are not without criticism.

“Medi-Cal no longer exists and served 14.6 million Californians, more than a third of the state's population. “Adding an additional 764,000 people to the system would exacerbate current provider access problems,” Republicans in the California Senate wrote in response to Newsom's budget proposal.

Medi-Cal's latest expansion is estimated to cost $2.6 billion annually.

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California's budget deficit also widened to $68 billion in recent months due to months of unexpected tax revenues, according to a new analysis from the Office of Legislative Analysis released in December. According to a report from Politico, the latest deficit figure is much higher than the deficit figure in June of $14.3 billion.

Although more people will sign up for Medi-Cal starting January 1, a study published in the International Journal of Health Services found that immigrants use fewer health care resources than non-immigrants.

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