This comes as December saw the highest number of monthly illegal border crossings in U.S. history.
California is set to offer taxpayer-funded health insurance to all illegal aliens in the state.
All illegal immigrants in California will become eligible to receive full coverage of Medi-Cal, the state’s version of the federal Medicare program, starting Jan. 1, 2024.
“In California, we believe everyone deserves access to quality, affordable health care coverage – regardless of income or immigration status,” Gov. Gavin Newsom’s (D) office told ABC News.
🚨BREAKING: Starting Jan. 1, ALL UNDOCUMENTED MIGRANTS, regardless of age, will qualify for Medi-Cal, California’s version of the federal Medicaid program.
Middle-class Californians work harder, get a second or third job if you have to because someone has to pay for it. pic.twitter.com/dOoelElmRs
— I Meme Therefore I Am 🇺🇸 (@ImMeme0) December 29, 2023
“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.”
This represents a major expansion of Medi-Cal health insurance program access for illegal immigrants, which initially covered adults between the ages of 19-25 and those over 50.
Democrats and the California Legislature had struck an omnibus spending deal with Gov. Newsom in May that led to this expansion of full Medi-Cal coverage for 700,000 undocumented immigrants between ages 26-49.
“This historic investment speaks to California’s commitment to health care as a human right,” state Sen. María Elena Durazo (D-Los Angeles) said at the time.
The expansion will cost the system $2.7 billion per year, according to estimates.
Some are healthcare providers are criticizing the new program given California faces a $68 billion deficit in the next fiscal year.
“The expansion was a bad idea when the state’s coffers were flush. Now that California is struggling to make ends meet, using taxpayer money to cover non-citizens is simply irresponsible,” Sally Pipes, a health care policy expert and the president and CEO of the Pacific Research Institute, told The New York Post.
Pipes added that the health insurance expansion coverage for illegal immigrants will only increase the burden on healthcare providers at the expense of American citizens currently enrolled in Medi-Cal.
“Many on Medi-Cal are already having a hard time finding doctors to treat them because of low reimbursement rates these doctors receive from the government,” Pipes said. “If those on Medi-Cal can find a doctor, they are facing very long waits for care.”
Heritage Foundation border security expert Simon Hankinson also criticized the runaway socialist scheme.
“No surprise [California], despite budget deficit, will give illegal immigrants subsidized health care. The question is how and when they’ll get the federal taxpayer to bail them out. NY, IL, and MA want to know,” Hankinson wrote on X.
No surprise CA, despite budget deficit, will give illegal immigrants subsidized health care. The question is how and when they’ll get the federal taxpayer to bail them out. NY, IL, and MA want to know. https://t.co/omefOpt2f5 via @foreigndesknews
— Simon Hankinson (@WatchfulWaiter1) December 28, 2023
This comes as December saw the highest number of monthly illegal border crossings in U.S. history, which Biden press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre dismissed as “nothing unusual.”
