California Governor Gavin Newsom Expands Healthcare to Undocumented Migrants Aged 50 and Up

By Joshua Summers First Posted: Jul 28, 2021 04:31 AM EDT

Governor Gavin Newsom signed a new law that would expand California's healthcare to some of the undocumented migrants in the state. Identified as "AB133," Newsom's office noted that the governor signed the legislation at a health clinic in Fresno County.

Forbes reported that the law would expand the state's Medicaid program, called Medi-Cal, to at least 235,000 low-income Californians. Furthermore, undocumented migrants in the state in the same age group would also be eligible for healthcare, The Sacramento Bee reported.

Undocumented Migrants to Benefit from California Gov. Gavin Newsom's Expansion of Healthcare

Newsom announced the healthcare expansion when the California governor visited Clinica Sierra Vista Elm Community Health Center in south Fresno. The Sacramento Bee highlighted that the said area served a large number of undocumented workers.

It can be recalled that the state expanded its Medicaid program to children in 2016 and adults up to age 26 in 2020. When implemented in 2022, low-income undocumented migrants, except 26 to 49-year-old individuals, would be eligible for the expansion.

Newsom noted in a statement that the "historic" Medi-Cal expansion would ensure thousands of older undocumented Californians, which the governor noted that many served on the frontlines amid the pandemic.

"I thank the legislature for its steadfast partnership to bring California closer to universal healthcare coverage and advance comprehensive initiatives to ensure California's communities come back from the pandemic stronger and healthier than before, Newsom stressed during a press conference on Tuesday.

Originally, the California governor intended to provide full-scope medical benefits for undocumented seniors aged 60 and up. However, Newsom and the state Democrats agreed in June that they would lower the threshold to cover more people.

Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer, who was also present during the press conference with Newsom, sounded his support for the expansion of healthcare in the state.

"Everyone is entitled to be healthy, and I really honestly believe that," Dyer noted. The Fresno mayor also emphasized that the newly signed law will give vulnerable populations access to healthcare.

The state of California will entirely fund the said expansion. However, Reuters underscored that federal law prohibits U.S. tax dollars from covering immigrants who entered the country illegally.

Undocumented Migrants in California

Despite the increase of numbers of undocumented migrants who the said healthcare expansion will cover, the U.S. Department of Homeland and Security mentioned that California leads all 50 states in the U.S. in the number of unauthorized immigrants.

In 2014, the agency noted that roughly 2.9 million undocumented migrants were recorded in California. However, other reports estimated that the number was closer to 2.2 million.

In 2019, at least 46 percent of undocumented migrants under the age of 65 were uninsured, Forbes reported, citing Kaiser Family Foundation.

Apart from California, other states also offered comprehensive public medical benefits to their undocumented elderlies. It can be recalled that in December, Illinois expanded their healthcare to all their non-citizens from ages 65 and older.