About 700,000 adults between ages 26 and 49 will be eligible as of Jan. 1
California will welcome the new year by becoming the first state to offer health insurance for all undocumented immigrants.
Starting Jan. 1, all undocumented immigrants, regardless of age, will qualify for Medi-Cal, California’s version of the federal Medicaid program for people with low incomes.
Previously, undocumented immigrants were not qualified to receive comprehensive health insurance but were allowed to receive emergency and pregnancy-related services under Medi-Cal as long as they met eligibility requirements, including income limits and California residency in 2014.
Didn’t California recently also pass a Public Option for healthcare, aiming for full coverage of Californians in general?
Great steps in the right direction.
No, CA does not have a public option… unless you consider things like Medicaid.
That said, many are pushing for single payer, and in October Newsom signed a bill that tries to resurrect the push for single payer.
and in October Newsom signed a bill that tries to resurrect the push for single payer.
I think this is the one I was thinking of. Thanks for the clarification, Tad Ghostal.
Must be very recent because I was without insurance due to cost back when I lived in california just a few months ago. Moved to china for obvious reasons
This headline is some absolute bullshit.
California already had health insurance for undocumented immigrants, as does Massachusetts. It’s just limited to emergency care and pregnancy care.
California is expanding their existing coverage to comprehensive health care including primary care, which is cheaper than letting medical conditions get so completely out of control that they require expensive and disabling emergency hospitalizations.
Well, that’s all what the article says, it just doesn’t fit in the headline. It does identify that the eligibility criteria are removed by specifying all.
I’m going to say it and I consider myself very liberal. But why are we providing insurance for them when we’re not even covering our own citizens?? How does this benefit the people who live in California and contribute to its GDP in a significant way? And I’m not saying undocumented immigrants don’t contribute to the gdP but they are undocumented. Everything happens under the table if they are. I would much rather California work on universal healthcare system for their state that includes immigrants. And I’m definitely not saying just because they’re undocumented doesn’t mean they don’t deserve this. But where is the benefit? These people can’t vote. They’re not paying taxes. Yet they’re reaping rewards of other people who do. Why doesn’t California put this money towards its massive homeless problem or it’s massive drug problem or it’s massive crime problem? I just simply do not understand why they would make something like this a priority over so many other problem ?
And before y’all eat me alive.I am genuinely asking because I don’t understand why this is something they feel is important? There are so many other issues plaguing their state alone. Why do they feel this is a priority when we’re not even taking care of our own citizens? Please only respond if you can genuinely give me insightful information or an education on this. Because like i said i consider myself very liberal and in other context I’d think this is great. But we are facing some many challenges just among our own documented citizens that i just feel like this is a great step but not the step we should be taking.
Immigrants are part of any economy that flourishes. Always has been. Egypt, Rome, France, England all had a high population of immigration. It’s to be expected with the world’s six largest economy (even bigger than Russia’s) there is a need for those doing these sorts of jobs to be taken care of.
As others have pointed out, they do pay taxes. They do live here. Health care should be a human right. Not a bargaining chip. The fact that universal health care isn’t even considered an option for the US is ridiculous.
You can get subsidized insurance through https://coveredca.com/ or free Medi-cal.
The answer to your question is this; do the math. It turns out that it’s less expensive to cover everyone than it is to rely on a system wherein illegals can only access healthcare at the ER.
It really is as simple as that.
I think it’s because it’s ultimately cheaper to cover them than to let them go to the emergency room and have to pay exorbitant prices on the back end. That’s a guess though.
Yeah, I’m curious how it helps them politically too. Don’t get me wrong, it seems like a good thing to do, morally, but I can only see negatives politically. Could be an attempt to save money on ER, but I’m not sure if it’s the state that picks up that tab. Could be an attempt to keep their working population healthier, saving money on productivity. Could’ve been lobbied for by the healthcare industry to reduce their costs, or industries that employ undocumented workers to make them more productive. Could be to secure the votes of citizens with undocumented parents/relatives.
I’m not a Californian, but it seems like a lot of the Democratic politicians there are grifters, and only care about themselves, getting re-elected, and climbing the political ladder; especially Newsom. So, I suppose they think this benefits them in some way, but I’m not sure how.
Don’t worry, everyone just responded about how I was wrong that they don’t really pay taxes. And instead completely missed the point of what I was asking even though i made it clear lol. I think most people in government are self-serving now on either side. Well, the reality is actually they’re not self-serving theyre company serving. It seems like in today’s society government officials are beholden to large companies over the people.
What makes you think Medi-Cal isn’t available for California citizens?
That’s insane.
What California is doing is making insurance untenable. This is more about cutting out the unnecessary middle man and providing services, at least basic ones, to everyone.
Insurance at it stands is an overall scam. To claw back some of that money for the “greater good”*…
I have no idea what the solution is, but I’m curious to see the outcome.
good they get help but what about the people living here already that have been waiting for federal insurance for all
Medi-Cal is already available to all Californians that meet income requirements?
You fucking know that those income requirements are ridiculous. I had 3k a month income. In the SF bay area - rent had just been raised by $200 pushing the cost above my income.
I qualified for like $200 a month in subsidies, no medi cal. Considering in copays and coinsurance, I couldn’t pay less than 1k for insurance.
So the choice was - homelessness or leave my illness untreated? Answer: leave the fucking country, death to lying Gavin Newsom.
Completely agree, but that wasn’t the question. Progress is progress, even if it’s decades late and only a tenth of what it should be.
This is going to sound insane, but I can’t get rid of Medi-cal. I did need it during covid because my insurance was tied to work and I was living with some elderly folk. I kept it when I moved in with my (then) boyfriend because I was in an area where I struggled to find a job. But then we got married, and I have been on his insurance for more than a year. I’ve called (even spoken to a few people), and I’ve written letters, but they just keep renewing it. Most recently I tried calling again but I gave up after waiting for an hour.
I couldn’t even use it if it wanted to because my name is different now, but the fact that I can’t communicate with them to let them know that I don’t need it is frustrating
And that made me wonder. I can’t get through to them to tell them that I don’t need it, right? How the hell does someone who DOES need it get through to get some help?
… as a Californian this is bullshit. Solve mental health and homelessness crisis. This is smoke and mirrors shit. Gavin is all about image and little on substance. This coming from a person who wouldn’t vote Republican either. We are literally in the darkest timeline. A turd sandwich versus a douche
Yeah “solve mental health” but no health insurance for those poors! Great idea!
Any other cliche TV quotes you want to throw out?
“Undocumented”? “health insurance”?
“Undocumented health insurance”!?
“as long as they met eligibility requirements, including income limits and California residency in 2014.”
But not documented!?Are you quite sure you’re all right over there?
Think of undocumented as “The Gov’t does not have a officially documented reason for why they are currently in the country” and not “The Gov’t literally has no idea that this person exists.”
Still mad about the time my income was equal to rent plus like $500 so I didn’t qualify for medi-cal. With my health conditions, on the cheapest plan, $1000+ a month. Fucking california, garbage place.
