Liberal Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a $2.8 billion bailout Monday to close California’s bloated Medicaid deficit, which exceeded projections due to the program’s expansion last year to include illegal immigrants.
The move, confirmed by Newsom’s office to Fox News Digital Monday afternoon, comes after the Democratic governor asked lawmakers last month for a $3.4 billion loan from the state’s general fund to cover $6.2 billion in outstanding Medi-Cal costs, one of the state’s primary healthcare programs funded by both federal and state taxpayers.
The additional funds will help keep the program running until June for approximately 15 million Californians, including noncitizens.
Republicans, however, have criticized the loan, claiming that the current Medicaid program is unsustainable because it includes illegal immigrants.
“Meanwhile, healthcare access is declining. Wait times are increasing. Democrats have made their decision: legal residents come in 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.”
According to state data, approximately 1.6 million illegal immigrants are currently enrolled in Medi-Cal, out of the program’s total 15 million enrollees.
The state had initially estimated that the expansion would cost just under $6 billion in fiscal year 2024-2025. However, just one year later, the costs have risen significantly beyond that estimate.
According to Newsom’s latest budget proposal, the cost of covering illegal immigrants will be $8.4 billion in 2024-2025 and $7.4 billion the following year.
Meanwhile, state House Republicans are pushing back. A new Republican proposal seeks to cut $880 billion, primarily from Medicaid, over the next decade to rein in what they call reckless government spending.
