We are correcting the record regarding false statements made by legislative budget leaders around their proposal to cut health care access for Californians who are undocumented or have “unsatisfactory” immigration status (UIS).
FALSE:
- “Let us be very clear, we are not disenrolling anyone from Medi-Cal. This means that no one currently enrolled will lose their health care coverage. That was a promise that California has made and a promise that we are keeping.” Sen Wiener (starts around 3min 35 seconds)
- “No one is going to be kicked off health care and I just want to send that message.” Sen Wiener on KCRA news.
FACT: Immigrants will in fact be dis-enrolled if their premiums lapse, and they can’t pay within the cure period and they cannot re-access Medi-Cal due to the freeze. For many people in Medi-Cal, and especially farmworkers, whose incomes fluctuate throughout the year, the legislature’s proposed 6 month grace period will do little to save their health care. If incomes are too high for Medi-Cal in different parts of the year and they fall off Medi-Cal due to making too much; they won’t be able to get back on due to the freeze. Folks are essentially put into a position of choosing between gainful employment and getting health care through Medi-Cal.
FALSE:
- “Immigrant workers and families, who pay billions in taxes, deserve access to care, and I am proud to protect California’s progress expanding Medi-Cal. There are tough choices ahead, and Assembly Democrats will closely examine any proposal from the Governor. But let’s be clear: We will not roll over and leave our immigrants behind.” Speaker Rivas in the Salinas Californian.
- “Protecting “the most vulnerable in our state, especially with so much chaos coming from Washington D.C., is a top priority for the Senate and something we’ve been laser-focused on.” Senate Pro Tem Mike McGuire in Santa Rosa Press Democrat.
- “We made a promise here in California to provide health care to those who are documented and undocumented, and we have kept that promise even in this fight.” Sen.Akilah Weber Pierson, D-La Mesa, who chairs the Senate’s budget subcommittee on health in Sacramento Bee.
- “We often say, show me your budget and I’ll know your values. And this budget proposal demonstrates that every Californian is truly valued. And we will put our dollars behind you….. It’s a budget proposal that preserves funding for dental care… preserves health care for undocumented people… and it’s a budget proposal that says one distinct thing: that this legislature is committed to health care. That commitment is real.” Asm Addis, chair of Assembly budget subcommittee on health (starts around 57:00).
FACT: It’s absurd to say Legislators’ budget protects health care for immigrants when it does the opposite – slashing dental care, forcing people out of health care with monthly premiums many extremely low-wage people can’t afford, even at $30, and instituting an enrollment freeze – only on immigrants.
What’s more, the Legislature delayed the premiums by a mere 6 months (from Jan 1 2027 to July 1 2027) but that is because they need time to implement a costly system to collect premiums – spending tens of millions of dollars hiring a private company to try to squeeze money out of poor immigrant families.
In fact, the Legislators’ budget expands the number of immigrant Californians subject to being frozen out of care to include not only undocumented immigrants but also the “UIS” population (lawfully present).
The joint budget finds savings ranging from $89 million this year to more than $3.3 billion in out years precisely by limiting access to Medi-Cal for undocumented and “UIS” Californians. If no one is locked out – then there are no savings! See legislative budget proposal here (Pg. 13):
Advocate Response:
“We are talking about legislating discrimination. We are talking about legislating kicking people off of health care, coming up with tools so people are kicked off health care. … The legislature will have to live with the people who will die and the people who will get sicker from this proposal….People [in the legislature] talk about health equity as a buzzword, but to lock in health disparities, particularly to Latino communities, it is unconscionable.” Ronald Coleman-Baeza, California Pan-Ethnic Health Network (Starts at 58:45)
“We are deeply concerned that the legislature’s budget proposal for Medi-Cal maintains key elements of the Governor’s proposal that move away from the state’s previously stated commitment to expanding health care access for all. The Legislature must continue to protect health care access and economic mobility for all Californians, and not mirror harmful federal restrictions that target immigrant communities.” Chloe Steck, California Immigrant Policy Center (Starts around 47:00)
““Health Access is profoundly disappointed that the legislative budget proposal, while rejecting some of the Governor’s cuts, is based on the same framework of using immigration status to determine who will get healthcare and who will go without, even after a decade of health for all advocacy to remove immigration status as a barrier and when immigrants are being attacked by the Trump Administration in the streets of Los Angeles and communities all over the country.” – Diana Douglas, Health Access California (Starts around 12:45)