For the first time, undocumented immigrants of all ages will qualify for Medi-Cal, California’s version of the federal government’s Medicaid program for low-income people.
The new guidelines will make California the only state to fund comprehensive health care for undocumented immigrants beginning Jan.1, 2024.
“This historic investment speaks to California’s commitment to health care as a human right,” Sen. María Elena Durazo (D-Los Angeles) said in a statement.
Gov. Gavin Newsom announced in May that a new budget deal with the Legislature included Medi-Cal expansion that would cover more undocumented adults.
The program expansion is expected to provide health coverage for about 700,000 undocumented residents between the ages of 26 and 49, according to Sen. Durazo.
In 2015, the state began to allow undocumented children to receive health care through Medi-Cal and then in 2019, the eligibility guidelines were extended to include those 26 years old or younger.
In May 2022, a California law allowed undocumented adults 50 or older to receive health care through the program.
However, plans to expand the Medi-Cal program haven’t come without its criticism.
“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,” the California Senate Republicans wrote in response to Newsom’s budget proposal.
The latest Medi-Cal expansion is expected to cost $2.6 billion annually.
California’s budget deficit has also increased to $68 billion in recent months due to months of unexpectedly low tax revenues, according to a new analysis from the Legislative Analyst’s Office released in December. The latest deficit figure far exceeds the $14.3 billion estimate from June, according to a report from Politico.
Even though more people will be included in the Medi-Cal program beginning on Jan.1, a study published in the International Journal of Health Services found that immigrants use fewer healthcare resources than non-immigrants.