California discovers illegal aliens are expensive

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At the end of 2023, Gov. Gavin Newsom framed it as a matter of principle when under his administration, California became the first state in the nation to pay for undocumented immigrants to use Medicaid.

“In California, we believe everyone deserves access to quality, affordable health care coverage – regardless of income or immigration status,” Newsom said in a statement to ABC News at the time.

People flocked to the system, with about 1.5 million undocumented Californians using the state’s Medi-Cal healthcare by November 2025. But now Newsom and fellow Democrats in Sacramento are walking back on their promise to provide healthcare access to all.
Lawmakers have slashed the program in a series of cuts over the last year with more expected to come. In January, the state froze any new undocumented adults from applying for the program. Dental benefits for undocumented people are set to expire in July. And Newsom’s latest budget proposal, released in May, calls for increasing premiums from a planned $30 to $50 for undocumented people starting in July next year.
Charging immigrants on Medi-Cal will “absolutely” push people off healthcare, according to Rachel Linn Gish, the interim deputy director of Health Access California. She said the governor’s cuts have returned California to a “two-tiered health care system” where undocumented immigrants will lose access to care.
“Governor Newsom [led] the way to provide access to all Californians regardless of immigration status. It was a key point of his governorship up until last year,” Linn Gish said in an email. “We have since then been disappointed in the rollbacks to the program he once championed.”

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