Beginning January 1, California’s under-resourced healthcare is getting very generous. Illegal immigrants aged 26 to 49 will become eligible for Medi-Cal, the state’s taxpayer-funded free and low-cost healthcare plan for low-income residents.
Under SB 184, an omnibus spending bill, an estimated 700,000 illegal immigrants will join the Medi-Cal system, incurring an annual cost of $2.7 billion. This move comes at a time when the state is grappling with a healthcare shortage, exacerbated by a new $25 healthcare minimum wage that threatens to reduce staffing levels.
One major challenge lies in Medi-Cal’s reimbursement rates for doctors, which are considerably lower than those from typical insurers. Experts warn that expanding the user base while maintaining low reimbursement rates may further deter doctors from accepting Medi-Cal patients, exacerbating existing difficulties in accessing healthcare.
Sally Pipes, president and Thomas W. Smith Fellow in healthcare policy at the Pacific Research Center, highlights the current struggles faced by Medi-Cal users, stating, “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. If those on Medi-Cal can find a doctor, they are facing very long waits for care.”
California, suffering from doctor and healthcare staffing shortages, has an additional challenge, as it anticipates a $68 billion budget deficit. The state has implemented a spending freeze for the current fiscal year, raising concerns about the sustainability of the expanded Medi-Cal program amid financial constraints.
The Center Square reports that Under the “public charge” rule for those applying for green cards or citizenship, the government may reject applications from individuals who are dependent on government aid. Medi-Cal benefits are only factored if the individual makes long-term use of nursing or mental health institutions. While use of Medicaid and other taxpayer-funded free or low-cost healthcare programs was considered under public charge determinations under the Trump administration, the Biden administration ended this practice.