California Breaks Ground: Offering Full Health Coverage to Undocumented Immigrants
California just made a big move — it’s now the first state to offer health insurance to all undocumented immigrants. Starting from January 1, around 700,000 adults aged 26 to 49 will be eligible for Medi-Cal, California’s version of Medicaid for folks with low incomes.
Before this, undocumented immigrants could only receive emergency and pregnancy-related services under Medi-Cal, but things are changing now. In 2015, undocumented kids got access to Medi-Cal, and in 2019, Governor Gavin Newsom expanded it to young adults aged 19–25, and adults aged 50 and up, regardless of immigration status.
Now, the new year brings another expansion, making about 700,000 undocumented residents aged 26–49 eligible for full health coverage. State Senator María Elena Durazo calls it a “historic investment” reflecting California’s commitment to healthcare as a human right.
But not everyone is on board. The California Senate Republican Caucus criticized the move, worrying it would strain an already stretched Medi-Cal system. They argued that adding 764,000 more individuals to the system would worsen provider access problems.
However, studies suggest that undocumented immigrants use fewer healthcare resources compared to non-immigrants. About half of undocumented immigrant adults in the U.S. report being uninsured, mainly due to the types of jobs they work, which often don’t offer health benefits, and eligibility restrictions for federal programs.
Despite being as likely as Medi-Cal enrollees to have chronic conditions, these immigrants face barriers such as confusion about eligibility, language challenges, and fear. To tackle this, California is committing a hefty sum — $835.6 million in 2023–24 and $2.6 billion annually after that — to expand full-scope Medi-Cal eligibility to all income-eligible adults, no matter their immigration status.
This isn’t the first time California is expanding health coverage. Back in 2019, when they included undocumented young adults, then-President Donald Trump wasn’t thrilled, calling it “very unfair to our citizens.” But California is standing firm, believing everyone deserves access to quality healthcare, regardless of income or immigration status.
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