Under the new program — which covers various services up to and including sex change surgeries — 700,000 individuals will be covered through the state’s Medi-Cal coverage. Since 2019, California has already been providing noncitizens under the ages of 26 with free health insurance. Expanding the program will now cost the state of California an estimated $3.1 billion annually. Within days of the insurance taking effect, a state legislator is now introducing legislation to reverse the new healthcare program. “It is unconscionable to spend billions of taxpayer dollars to give universal healthcare to illegal immigrants when our own citizens cannot afford their own healthcare on top of historic inflation and the highest cost of living in the nation,” Assemblymember Bill Essayli, who introduced legislation to clawback funding for the healthcare plan, said in a statement posted to social media platform X. “The state budget has a $68 billion deficit, insurance premiums are going up across the board, and consumer prices remain 19 percent higher than pre-pandemic levels,” he said. “Law-abiding immigrants like my parents are part of the great fabric of our state and nation,” Essayli added. “We cannot incentivize illegal immigration with free healthcare. We must take care of our own citizens before trying to care for the citizens of other nations.” Prior to the new California law, which took effect Jan. 1, noncitizens were allowed to receive emergency and pregnancy-related medical services under Medi-Cal. California Gov. Gavin Newsom has been an ardent supporter of providing healthcare to foreign nationals since the plan was announced last May. “In California, we believe everyone deserves access to quality, affordable health care coverage – regardless of income or immigration status,” Newsom told ABC News this week. “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.” Other state officials also tout the new health plan as a major step forward. "No other state in the country has done more in the space of health care access and affordability than the state of California,” says California's Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly. "I am proud of this Administration’s work to pioneer a comprehensive health care system that will become a national model for expanding access, reducing costs, improving services, and closing equity gaps."California recently became the first state in the U.S. to offer health insurance for illegal aliens.
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