Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) signed legislation Monday to close a $2.8 billion gap in the state’s budget for Medicaid services.
The governor’s move will ensure coverage through June for 15 million California residents who receive healthcare via the Medi-Cal program, and it is part of the state’s solution to the $6.2 billion deficit in the budget for Medicaid.
This comes after California expanded coverage last year to provide free healthcare to all low-income adults regardless of their immigration status. California now provides free healthcare to about a third of its 39 million residents, according to the Associated Press.
Approximately 2 million illegal immigrants live in California, according to the Pew Research Center. The state government in 2015 allowed low-income children without status and illegal immigrants under 25 and over 50 to enroll in Medi-Cal. In December, Newsom signed legislation that opened access to illegal immigrants of any age.
California has not confirmed how many people signed up with the expansion, but the state estimated that 700,000 people were made eligible for health coverage with this change.
Newsom has said that scaling back who is covered to reduce costs is not on the table. Leadership in the California state legislature, including Speaker Robert Rivas and Senate President Pro Tempore Mike McGuire, have also said they will not reduce coverage.
The recent expansion has cost California $2.7 billion more than the state budgeted because the state underestimated the number of people who would sign up for services.
In March, Newsom’s administration confirmed to state lawmakers that it took out a $3.44 billion loan from the general fund, the maximum allowed under state law, to make payments for that month.
California is also planning for possible budget hits via congressional Republicans’ budget proposal. Fiscal hawks pushed through a plan that would cut $1.5 trillion in government spending, which Democrats have argued will lead to slashing Medicaid and Medicare services. Republicans have pushed back on that narrative, but changes to work requirements remain likely.
CHATTER ABOUT BUDGET CUTS TO MEDICAID WORRIES VULNERABLE REPUBLICANS
The budget deficit has made Republican Californian lawmakers critical of the expansion.
“Democrats’ bad accounting has brought Medi-Cal to the breaking point, making it harder for patients to get in to see a doctor,” Assembly Republican Leader James Gallagher said in a statement. “We owe it to Californians — and to the vulnerable people who depend on this program — to make sure Medi-Cal is meeting their needs.”
