Democrat Gavin Newsom approved a multimillion-dollar bailout in a health program co-opted by illegal immigrants
The inclusion of illegal immigrants in Medi-Cal has been heavily criticized by Republican lawmakers. The Republican minority leader in the state Senate, Brian Jones, expressed his concern on social media, arguing that healthcare for legal residents is being compromised: "Access to healthcare is declining.
Wait times are growing. Democrats have made their decision: legal residents come second."
The governor of California, Gavin Newsom, signed a $2.8 billion financial bailout this Monday to cover a growing deficit in the state health program Medi-Cal, which has far exceeded budget projections due to its recent expansion to include illegal immigrants.
The measure, confirmed by the governor's office to the news network Fox News, aims to keep the program operational until June 2025.
The bailout is part of a broader request by Newsom to the state legislature last month, when he asked for a $3.4 billion loan from the state's general fund to cover about $6.2 billion in accumulated costs of the program.
Medi-Cal, which combines state and federal funds, provides medical coverage to approximately 15 million people in California, including approximately 1.6 million unauthorized immigrants.
According to state data, the program's expansion to cover illegal immigrants was initially estimated at nearly $6 billion for the 2024–2025 fiscal year. However, just a year later, the costs have far exceeded that figure.
The governor's most recent budget now estimates that the spending to cover these beneficiaries will amount to $8.4 billion in the next fiscal year, and $7.4 billion in the following one.
Jones and other Republicans have warned that the program is not sustainable if illegal immigrants continue to be enrolled. They have called for a halt to new enrollments of this group and for reforms to be implemented before the system collapses financially.
At the federal level, House Republicans have also proposed significant cuts. A new Republican plan seeks to reduce $880 billion in spending over the next decade, focusing the cuts primarily on Medicaid, as part of a strategy to curb what they consider uncontrolled government spending.
Despite the criticisms, Newsom's administration defends the bailout as a necessary measure to ensure the continuity of healthcare for millions of Californians.
However, the rising cost of covering illegal immigrants remains a controversial issue in a state that already faces fiscal pressures, inflation, and other economic challenges. The debate around Medi-Cal promises to remain a key point of confrontation in state and national politics in the coming months.
