Newsom calls for backing to provide free health care for qualified undocumented immigrants
Sacramento – Gov. Gavin Newsom’s 2025-26 revised budget proposals, violating his signing policy, and the state expects future economic times to be challenging as costs exceed expectations and provide free health insurance for all low-income undocumented immigrants.
Newsom’s office said the governor’s spending plan will be released Wednesday afternoon, requiring all undocumented adults to pay $100 a month to get MEDI-CAL coverage, and as of January 1 through January 1.
If some immigrants can’t afford new premiums, the cost share will reduce the state’s financial burden and can reduce the total number of healthcare plans. Freezing enrollment rates could prevent the program from continuing to the balloon, after more people signed up for the previous contract than the state expected.
The governor’s office said the changes would save $5.4 billion in total $5.4 billion by 2028-29, but did not elaborate on cost savings for the upcoming fiscal year starting July 1.
Newsom is expected to project California’s deficit in the coming fiscal year on Wednesday, including higher-than-expected Medi-Cal costs, and greater estimates in the coming years. During the current budget year, the governor and lawmakers approved $2.8 billion in grants and allocated a $3.4 billion loan just to cover the additional costs until June.
The rising costs have attracted criticism from Republicans and put pressure on Democrats to consider expanding backward coverage of immigration. A recent poll found California voters support providing free health care for undocumented children. Only more than half of voters support health care for qualified immigrants aged 50 or older, while 49% support coverage for adults aged 18 to 49.
Medi-Cal, a subsidiary of California’s Medicaid, provides health insurance for qualified low-income residents. Concerns also continue to cut Medicaid funds may be imminent after this year’s Republican Congress passed a budget blueprint, including a billion-dollar spending cut.
California became the first state to provide health care to all income-eligible immigrants a year ago after Newsom and the Democratic-led legislature approved the expansion.
Democratic state Governor Jerry Brown signed a bill in 2015 that provides Medi-Cal coverage to all children under all ages.
Newsom will plant Medi-Cal’s cover pool to include multi-year expansion of the age category that begins in 2020 and ends in 2024, including all income-eligible immigrants in California.
California’s new budget shortages, in addition to $27.3 billion in financial remedies, including $16.1 billion in cuts and $7.1 billion in withdrawal from the state’s rainy day fund, the lawmaker and governor have agreed to proceed in 2025-26.
The deficit marks the third year that Newsom and lawmakers are forced to reduce spending after they devote more money to the program. Poor forecasts, high prices promised by democratic policy and unwilling to make long-term sharp cuts have increased the deficit at a time when the governor often touted California as the fourth largest economy in the world.
The Newsom office said Tuesday afternoon that President Trump’s tariff policies have also hurt California’s financial situation and expected the state to lose $16 billion in revenue from January 2025 to June 2026 because of the impact of the collection of imported goods and economic uncertainty on the stock market.
