California Taxpayers Foot the Bill Once Again as Newsom Signs Massive Medi-Cal Bailout
This week, Governor Newsom quietly signed a staggering $2.8 billion bailout for California’s Medicaid program, known as Medi-Cal. The emergency funding is intended to keep the program running through June after costs skyrocketed far beyond what state officials had projected just last year. The program has been overwhelmed largely due to its expansion to cover illegal immigrants – because apparently, printing money for non-citizens is Sacramento’s new favorite hobby.
“Meanwhile, healthcare access is plummeting. Wait times are growing. Democrats have made their choice: legal residents come second,” California Republican state Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones wrote on X. “We must stop new enrollments of illegal immigrants and rein in this unsustainable program before it collapses entirely.”
Every dollar spent on healthcare for someone who entered our country illegally is a dollar not available for American citizens who have paid taxes their entire lives. The bailout comes after Newsom requested a $3.4 billion loan from the state’s general fund last month to cover some $6.2 billion in outstanding costs for the program. What’s particularly alarming is that state officials had initially projected the expansion would cost just under $6 billion for fiscal year 2024-2025. But merely one year after implementation, costs have surged to a projected $8.4 billion – a stunning 40% increase.
According to state data, approximately 1.6 million illegal immigrants are currently enrolled in Medi-Cal – more than 10% of the program’s total 15 million enrollees. This massive expansion to include non-citizens has created an unsustainable financial burden that California taxpayers are now being forced to shoulder.
While California doubles down on providing free healthcare to illegal immigrants, the Trump administration has decisively taken a dramatically different approach. President Trump has focused on securing the border and implementing policies that prioritize American citizens, rightly arguing that limited resources should first benefit those who have followed the law and contributed to our tax system.
“Meanwhile, healthcare access is plummeting. Wait times are growing. Democrats have made their choice: legal residents come second,” California Republican state Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones wrote on X. “We must stop new enrollments of illegal immigrants and rein in this unsustainable program before it collapses entirely.”
Every dollar spent on healthcare for someone who entered our country illegally is a dollar not available for American citizens who have paid taxes their entire lives. The bailout comes after Newsom requested a $3.4 billion loan from the state’s general fund last month to cover some $6.2 billion in outstanding costs for the program. What’s particularly alarming is that state officials had initially projected the expansion would cost just under $6 billion for fiscal year 2024-2025. But merely one year after implementation, costs have surged to a projected $8.4 billion – a stunning 40% increase.
According to state data, approximately 1.6 million illegal immigrants are currently enrolled in Medi-Cal – more than 10% of the program’s total 15 million enrollees. This massive expansion to include non-citizens has created an unsustainable financial burden that California taxpayers are now being forced to shoulder.
While California doubles down on providing free healthcare to illegal immigrants, the Trump administration has decisively taken a dramatically different approach. President Trump has focused on securing the border and implementing policies that prioritize American citizens, rightly arguing that limited resources should first benefit those who have followed the law and contributed to our tax system.
70-79, M
