The Republican minority leaders in California are responding to potential next steps for the highly scrutinized Medi-Cal program, which is insolvent, as some believe the ability for people to enroll “regardless of their immigration status” is a leading cause.
The state faces a $12 billion budget shortfall as budget talks continue in Sacramento.
The Medi-Cal program went insolvent earlier this year after it went billions over budget, resulting in $3.44 billion in loan requests to salvage the program, which covers low-income Golden State residents. Republicans said it was in large part due to illegal immigrants being allowed to enroll in the program, and Newsom also said that it was part of the spending issue, but not the whole picture, according to KCRA.
LAWMAKERS REVEAL WHETHER AMERICANS SHOULD PICK UP THE MEDICAID TAB FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS
“That’s going to continue to be a big debate here in California as we’re wrestling with a $12 billion dollar deficit and the cost of providing free healthcare to illegal immigrants is $11.4 billion dollars, so if we just didn’t do that, that would eliminate our budget deficit,” California State Senate Minority Leader Brain Jones said. “Now, there’s lots of other ways we can find $12 billion dollars to eliminate the deficit as well.”
Newsom’s May budget revision proposes a pause for adults 19 and older from enrolling in “full-scope coverage” and to start charging a $100 premium each month “for individuals with certain statuses,” Fox News Digital reported earlier this month.
“To be very clear, these proposals are the results of a $16 billion Trump Slump and higher-than-expected health care utilization. Because of these outside factors, the state must take difficult but necessary steps to ensure fiscal stability and preserve the long-term viability of Medi-Cal for all Californians,” Elana Ross, deputy communications director for Newsom’s office, told Fox News Digital in a statement.
“Governor Newsom refuses to turn his back on hardworking Californians, especially when it comes to their basic health care needs,” she added.
The proposal from the Newsom administration sparked criticism among some in the legislature, as the Democratic California Legislative Latino Caucus is suggesting a tax hike to pay for the program’s coverage for illegal immigrants, according to KCRA. The question remains whether a $100 premium would be enough to get people to leave the program.
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However, Jones said that Medi-Cal being offered to illegal immigrants might not be quite what Democrats present it as.
“It’s just a messaging point for the governor and the Democratic leadership. It’s not an actual thing. Meaning the governor and the Democrat leadership are promising illegal immigrants coverage, and they are on the rolls, but there’s very little access,” he said.
“A lot of doctors in California that used to provide Medicare and Medicaid have closed up shop, moved to other states. A lot of other doctors that are still here have stopped taking those kinds of patients, even if they’re here legally or illegally, because the reimbursement rates are so low, the doctors actually lose money when they take a Medicare or Medicaid patient,” Jones continued.
NEWSOM CONCEDES SKYROCKETING HEALTHCARE COSTS FOR ILLEGALS ARE ‘PARTIAL’ CONTRIBUTOR TO MEDICAID PROBLEM
Meanwhile, Assembly Minority Leader James Gallagher told Fox News Digital in an interview that the budget shortfall is “a total disaster” that “was completely predictable.”
“You know, two years ago, Gavin Newsom and the supermajority Democrats decided to fund illegal immigrant healthcare through our Medi-Cal program. And everybody said it’s gonna be billions of dollars. It’s not sustainable. And at the time, Biden was president, and people were coming across the border, millions of people. We had no idea. And I think a lot of them came to California and signed up. And so now we have a completely unsustainable, bankrupted Medi-Cal system that’s required $3.4 billion worth of loans to prop up.”
On a federal level, the pending reconciliation bill that recently passed the House of Representatives could also create issues for the state’s Medi-Cal offerings, as it would change the federal “match” from 90% to 80% for care that is not an emergency, which the Newsom administration says could cost the state billions, The Center Square reported.
“If Republicans move this extreme MAGA proposal forward, millions will lose coverage, hospitals will close, and safety nets could collapse under the weight,” Newsom stated last week.
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