Newsom Reverses Course on Taxpayer Funded Health Care for Illegal Immigrants, Calls to Pause Enrollment
California Governor Gavin Newsom looks on as he visits the Pacific Palisades neighborhood, in Los Angeles, Calif., January 8, 2025.(Daniel Cole/Reuters)
By Brittany Bernstein
May 14, 2025 10:16 AM
California Governor Gavin Newsom said Wednesday he wants the state to stop enrolling more low-income illegal immigrants in a state-funded health care program, beginning next year.
Under Newsom’s plan, the state would not end coverage for illegal immigrants who are already enrolled in Medi-Cal, the state’s Medicaid program. However, the state would begin charging adults with “unsatisfactory immigrant status” a monthly premium of $100 beginning in 2027.
Newsom’s announcement comes after the governor previously said in March he was not considering rolling back health benefits for low-income illegal immigrants, even as the state contended with a $6.2 billion Medicaid shortfall.
Just last year, the state became among the first to offer free health care benefits to all low-income adults, regardless of immigration status.
Now, Newsom is backtracking as the expansion cost the state $2.7 billion more than his administration had predicted.
https://www.nationalreview.com/news/newsom-reverses-course-on-taxpayer-funded-health-care-for-illegal-immigrants-calls-to-pause-enrollment/