California Democrats are considering a new tax in order to pay for health insurance for illegal immigrants.
Sen. Lena Gonzalez (D–Long Beach) said Monday that a new tax should be considered to cover illegal immigrants under Medi-Cal.
The backstory: Medi-Cal, California’s Medicaid program, is in financial straits in part for covering illegal immigrants.
- California faced a $3.44 billion shortfall for its Medi-Cal funding, requiring a federal loan to help pay for healthcare for illegal immigrants.
- After that loan, Gov. Gavin Newsom then revealed that Medi-Cal needed an additional $2.8 billion in March to fund the program through the end of the fiscal year.
- California has spent around $11 billion to cover 1.6 million illegal immigrants this year, according to budget documents.
- Newsom also took aim at the program with his budget revision last week as the state grapples with a $12 billion deficit. Newsom proposed a freeze on enrollment for new illegal immigrant recipients and wants to charge $100 monthly premiums for illegal immigrants currently enrolled in Medi-Cal.
The big picture: The Democratic Legislative Latino Caucus, led by Gonzalez, held a press conference on Monday to oppose Newsom’s Medi-Cal budget proposals.
- While Democrats did not propose any specific solutions to pay for healthcare for illegal immigrants under Medi-Cal, they did say they were open to all ideas, including a new tax.
What they’re saying: According to a report from KCRA, the Latino Democratic Caucus was asked about the possibility of creating a new tax to help fund Medi-Cal’s coverage of illegal immigrants.
- “We’ve got to assess everything, we’ve got to be reasonable about this approach,” Gonzalez said. “We have to stop the narrative on vilifying immigrants.”
