California becomes first state to [Stab taxpayers in the back...] offer health insurance to all undocumented immigrants

[Leroy N. Soetoro]

https://abcnews.go.com/Health/california-1st-state-offer-health-insurance-
undocumented-immigrants/story?id=105986377

California will welcome the new year by becoming the first state to offer
health insurance for all undocumented immigrants.

Starting Jan. 1, all undocumented immigrants, regardless of age, will
qualify for Medi-Cal, California's version of the federal Medicaid program
for people with low incomes.

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.

The final expansion going into effect Jan. 1 will make approximately
700,000 undocumented residents between ages 26 and 49 eligible for full
coverage, according to California State Sen. María Elena Durazo.

"This historic investment speaks to California's commitment to health care
as a human right," Durazo said in a statement in May.

“In California, we believe everyone deserves access to quality, affordable
health care coverage – regardless of income or immigration status,” Gov.
Newsom’s office said in response to an ABC News request for comment.
“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.”

California's plan to expand coverage has not been without its detractors.
The California Senate Republican Caucus criticized the move in an analysis
of the 2022-23 governor's budget.

"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 caucus wrote last year.

However, studies have shown that undocumented immigrants use fewer
healthcare resources than do non-immigrants.

About 50% of undocumented immigrant adults in America report being
uninsured, compared to just 8% of U.S.-born citizens, according to the
health policy research nonprofit KFF, due to undocumented adults being
more likely work jobs that don't provide health benefits, as well as
facing eligibility restrictions for federal programs.

Additionally, undocumented immigrants who are eligible may face other
barriers, including confusion about eligibility, language challenges and
fear, KFF said.

This is despite low-income undocumented immigrants in California being
about as likely as those currently enrolled in Medi-Cal to have at least
one chronic condition, according to research conducted by the Public
Policy Institute of California (PPIC), a nonprofit research institution.

Undocumented immigrants are also about as likely to receive preventive
services, such as the flu shot, and older undocumented immigrants are
about as likely to receive age-appropriate health services such as cancer
screenings and the shingles vaccine, at rates similar to Medi-Cal
patients, the PPIC found.

The California Health and Human Services Agency has committed $835.6
million in 2023-24 and $2.6 billion annually thereafter to expand full-
scope Medi-Cal eligibility to all income-eligible adults, regardless of
immigration status.

When California expanded health care coverage in 2019 to include
undocumented young adults, then-President Donald Trump blasted the plan,
calling it "very unfair to our citizens."

"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 told reporters 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."


--
We live in a time where intelligent people are being silenced so that
stupid people won't be offended.

Durham Report: The FBI has an integrity problem. It has none.

No collusion - Special Counsel Robert Swan Mueller III, March 2019.
Officially made Nancy Pelosi a two-time impeachment loser.

Thank you for cleaning up the disaster of the 2008-2017 Obama / Biden
fiasco, President Trump.

Under Barack Obama's leadership, the United States of America became the
The World According To Garp. Obama sold out heterosexuals for Hollywood
queer liberal democrat donors.

President Trump boosted the economy, reduced illegal invasions, appointed
dozens of judges and three SCOTUS justices.