California can make Medicaid available to illegal immigrants

This week, California is one step closer to becoming the first state to provide Medicaid to all undocumented immigrants.

Фото: Depositphotos

Following a proposal by the State Senate to expand coverage of undocumented young and old people, Governor Gavin Newsom proposed a revised version of the bill that will cover only illegal immigrants from 19 to 25 years. Then on Tuesday, California passed a bill to expand Medicaid coverage for illegal immigrants of all ages. The Senate has yet to decide, but according to some estimates, a full expansion could provide the right to participate in the program to 1,15 million people.

California is trying to expand Medicaid for illegal immigrants not for the first time, but the changes will be significant, especially if you consider that the Trump administration has proposed several policies that will not allow immigrants to receive benefits, including health care.

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Although undocumented children in California are already allowed to register with Medicaid (known in the state as Medi-Cal), federal policy prohibits undocumented adult immigrants from receiving Medicaid. Instead, they must rely on a range of medical services that do not cover a wide range of diseases. Those undocumented immigrants who can enroll in a limited Medi-Cal plan must pay for chemotherapy or care for people with asthma, diabetes, or hypertension.

Data from analysts have shown that even a small increase in the access of illegal immigrants to health services can help narrow the gap between insured and uninsured residents.

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Laurel Lucia, director of health at the University of California at Berkeley Health Center, believes that a full expansion could reduce the number of uninsured state residents by a quarter. But Lucia also found that continuing actions by the Trump administration on benefits and immigration can dramatically reduce these efforts.

California can still use its own funds to expand the provision of medical services to illegal immigrants, but experts expect Trump’s agenda as a whole will limit participation.

The policy would also put the state at odds with recent administration proposals aimed at limiting immigrants' use of benefits, including for legal immigrants who may refuse due to fear of deportation or the threat of losing their green cards. “A range of policies aimed at strengthening immigration enforcement have contributed to increasing fear among the immigrant community as a whole, which is causing them to refuse services,” said Samantha Artiga, an analyst at the Kaiser Family Foundation.

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California, following a number of other states, has already extended the right to receive Medicaid to children from low-income, undocumented families, covering more than 250 000 children with 2018.

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