California becomes first US state to provide free medical care to all irregular immigrants

EFE.– California Makes history at the beginning of the year by becoming the first state in the United States to offer free medical care For all low-income undocumented immigrants.

A new state law starting this Monday will allow undocumented aliens ages 26 to 49 who are below certain income limits to access full coverage of the state’s official Medi-Cal assistance, as already provided. Has been done There were other sections of this population as well.

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by 2022 migrants Those living without a legal permit of all ages represent 40% of the state’s approximately 3.2 million uninsured residents.

Treatment This is the Californian version of MedicaidA program comprised of federal and state resources that provides health insurance to low-income people.

With this expansion of eligibility, the “Golden State” is led by a Democratic governor. gavin NewsomIt is pursuing its ambitious plan to provide medical coverage to all its residents, approximately 39 million people.

More than 700 thousand people are expected to benefit from this measure migrants With a cost of over $2.6 billion annually.

This measure represents the largest effort to provide health insurance For Californians in a decade.

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“This reflects a historic investment commitment California “With medical care as a human right,” Senator Maria Elena Durazo, Democrat of Los Angeles, said in a statement.

California Already a large portion of undocumented residents have been allowed to access Medi-Cal.

In 2015, minor without immigration status He was the first person to access this program. Four years later, eligibility was expanded to those under 26. And in May 2022, the state began covering people 50 and older.

Assemblyman Miguel Santiago, in a statement, called the disparity a historical error that will be addressed with detail.

California Department of Health Care Services (dhcswarned that US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) does not consider access to Medi-Cal health services as a public charge, so it would not affect potential applications to regularize the immigration status of their beneficiaries. Will do.,

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He said the information provided by migrants will be used only to determine whether they are eligible or not. State laws protect confidentiality Of your information.

republican legislator Opponents of the legislation warned that expanding Medicare coverage to all undocumented immigrants would strain California’s budget, which is projected to have a deficit of $68 billion in 2024.