California Democratic
Lawmakers Reintroduce Bill to Extend Medi-Cal to Illegal Immigrants
BY
A bill
seeking to provide illegal immigrants with free or low-cost health care was
reintroduced by California Democratic state lawmakers on Dec. 3, marking
another attempt to make California the first state in the United States to let
people enroll in Medicaid regardless of their immigration status.
Assembly Bill 4 (AB 4), introduced by
assembly member Joaquin Arambula (D-
Fresno), Rob Bonta (D-Oakland),
and David
Chiu (D-San Francisco), would make the full
benefits of the
California Medical Assistance
Program (Medi-Cal) available to all low-
income
earners who many not be in the
country legally.
Medi-Cal is the name of California’s
Medicaid program and serves children and adults whose income falls below 138%
of the federal poverty level. According to data from the California Department
of Health Care Services, about 13.3 million Californians are currently enrolled
in the program. They account for one-third of California’s population.
Under current
law, all children in California, regardless of their immigration status, are
eligible for full-scope Medi-Cal benefits including hospitalization,
prescription drugs, oral, and vision care. As of December 2017, a total of
218,571 undocumented children have enrolled in full-scope Medi-Cal, according
to a Senate Bill Policy Committee
analysis.
In addition, immigrants over 19 without
legal status can currently enroll in limited-scope Medi-Cal, which
includes long-term care, pregnancy-related benefits, and emergency
services.
In early 2018, Arambula and State Senator
Ricardo Lara introduced a pair of bills that also proposed to remove the
requirement baring low-income immigrants who are illegally present in the
United States from enrolling in full-scope Medi-Cal.
According to a report from the
Legislative Analyst’s Office, 1.2 million illegal immigrants would be eligible
to enroll for full-scope Medi-Cal. These new enrollments would generate an
additional burden to taxpayers of $3 billion per year, bringing the total cost
of Medi-Cal for illegal immigrants up to $4.74 billion in 2018-19 alone, the
report said.
ollowing
a reduction in federal funding for the Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as
Obamacare, the 2018-19 Governor’s Budget shows that general fund spending
in Medi-Cal is already projected to increase by 11 percent from $19.5
billion to $21.6 billion. If adding $3 billion more to the budget, it would
raise the state’s Medicaid bill by 13%, reported the LA Times.
As a result, both of the bills died in
Appropriation Committees in August, despite the authors’ efforts in reducing
costs by changing the bills’ coverage from all illegal immigrants to those who
were under 26 and above 65 years old.
Although the authors failed to convince outgoing Gov. Jerry Brown
to accept the proposal, advocates for the bills are expecting a different
outcome from incoming Gov. Gavin Newson, who supported expanding access to
health care in his campaign, according to the Sacramento Bee.
Opponents of the new bill have voiced
concern that if the legislation passed, illegal immigrants from other states
could move to California in order to receive health benefits, driving up the
tax burden even further.
On the same day
that AB 4 was introduced, an interagency report was
released to recommend that states expand their health insurance offerings and
ask Congress and the White House to work on removing certain ACA mandates that
smother competition.
The report also suggests repealing the
employer mandate, which requires businesses with 50 full-time employees to
provide minimum essential coverage to all their employees or risk paying a
penalty. Similarly, it advocates for health reimbursement accounts (HRA), which
are employer-funded accounts that fund employee health care.
In addition, the report takes issue with the “essential
coverage”
mandate of the ACA, which it argues
requires employers and individuals to pay
for things
they don’t need. It has also led to an increase in
premiums. To
illustrate this, the report
cites ASPE data from
2013 to 2017 on the
HealthCare.gov website that shows how premiums
have
increased 105 percent in the 39 states.
PRAGER U VIDEO: ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION: IT'S ABOUT POWER
What really lies behind the Left's support for 'open borders.'
December 6, 2018
Historically, Democrats supported strong borders because they knew American workers could never compete with illegal immigrants. Now, they regularly support “open borders.” So why the drastic change? Tucker Carlson, host of Tucker Carlson Tonight, explains.
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“The radicals seek nothing less than secession from the United States whether to form their own sovereign state or to reunify with Mexico. Those who desire reunification with Mexico are irredentists who seek to reclaim Mexico's "lost" territories in the American Southwest.” Maria Hsia Chang Professor of Political Science, University of Nevada Reno
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"Mexican president candidate Andrés Manuel López Obrador called for mass immigration to the United States, declaring it a "human right". We will defend all the (Mexican) invaders in the American," Obrador said, adding that immigrants "must leave their towns and find a life, job, welfare, and free medical in the United States."
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"Fox’s Tucker Carlson noted Thursday that Obrador has previously proposed ranting AMNESTY TO MEXICAN DRUG CARTELS. “America is now Mexico’s social safety net, and that’s a very good deal for the Mexican ruling class,” Carlson added."
MEXICANS ARE THE CULTURE OF THIEVERY. THEY NOT ONLY STEAL MILLIONS OF JOBS WITH STOLEN SOCIAL SECURITY, THEY STEAL ANYTHING THEY CAN GET THEIR HANDS ON.
"Mexicans cheat, distribute drugs, lie, forge documents, STEAL and kill a s if it’s a normal way of life. For them, it is. Mexico’s civilization stands diametrically opposed to America’s culture.: FROSTY WOOLDRIDGE
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One of the most serious of those crimes involves the theft of the identities of millions of United States citizens and lawfully-admitted immigrants whose citizenship, lawful immigrant status and good names are valued commodities that provide millions of illegal aliens with a sort of “camouflage.” MICHAEL CUTLER
AMERICA: THE WORLD’S WELFARE OFFICE
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With crime soaring, rampant homelessness, sanctuary state status attracting the highest illegal immigrant population in the country and its “worst state in the U.S. to do business” ranking for more than a decade, California and its expansive, debt-ridden, progressive government is devolving into a third-world country. JANET LEVY
"This is how they will destroy America from within. The leftist billionaires who orchestrate these plans are wealthy. Those tasked with representing us in Congress will never be exposed to the cost of the invasion of millions of migrants. They have nothing but contempt for those of us who must endure the consequences of our communities being intruded upon by gang members, drug dealers and human traffickers. These people have no intention of becoming Americans; like the Democrats who welcome them, they have contempt for us." PATRICIA McCARTHY
"Most Californians, who have seen their taxes increase while public services deteriorate, already know the impact that mass illegal immigration is having on their communities, but even they may be shocked when they learn just how much of a drain illegal immigration has become." FAIR President Dan Stein
It needs U.S. support for its war on cartels. Instead of insulting American citizens, Mexico should confront directly the reasons why its people are so desperate to leave, and do all in its power to destroy the cartels that are slowly killing the nation. That includes defunding the murderous gangs by halting illegal immigration.
THE SLOW DEATH OF CALIFORNIA, A WELFARE STATE AND COLONY OF MEXICO
With crime soaring, rampant homelessness, sanctuary state status attracting the highest illegal immigrant population in the country and its “worst state in the U.S. to do business” ranking for more than a decade, California and its expansive, debt-ridden, progressive government is devolving into a third-world country. JANET LEVY
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