A proposal from California Gov. Gavin Newsom aims to make the state the first to expand Medicaid eligibility to include anyone regardless of their immigration status, according to a Jan. 11 report from The Sacramento Bee.
The proposal would expand Medi-Cal, the state's Medicaid program, and tack on an estimated $2.7 billion to its budget annually starting in 2024.
Currently, undocumented residents are not eligible for Medi-Cal coverage after the age of 26. The state also offers coverage to all undocumented residents for emergency services and prenatal and maternal care.
State Assembly Member Joaquin Arambula, MD, a former physician, told the Bee that the proposal comes as vulnerable undocumented populations require coverage during the pandemic.
"What I oftentimes would find is that our undocumented community would seek care delayed or not at all, and oftentimes forgo much of the preventative health care we know to be so beneficial," Dr. Arambula told the Bee. "When you don't have health care access, you get sicker and you die sooner — that’s what I saw firsthand."