California Governor Gavin Newsom is back at it again, asking state lawmakers for an additional $2.8 billion to prop up the state’s Medicaid program, Medi-Cal.
This latest request comes on the heels of his prior demand for a $3.4 billion bailout just last week, as Fox News reported.
The reason for this massive budget shortfall? A bloated program that now extends taxpayer-funded healthcare to illegal immigrants, ballooning costs well beyond the state’s original projections.
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Newsom’s administration claims the surge in costs isn’t just due to his open-door policy on illegal immigration but rather a mix of rising pharmaceutical prices and overall enrollment increases.
In an attempt to downplay the fiscal disaster, his office pointed to other states, such as Pennsylvania and Indiana, that are also facing Medicaid budget gaps. But Republicans in California aren’t buying it.
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“That’s a staggering $6.2 billion over budget…and the costs keep climbing with no end in sight,” said California Senate Republican Minority Leader Brian Jones. “Californians should not be forced to shoulder the burden of radical Democrats’ reckless financial mismanagement.”
Jones also highlighted that even former Governor Jerry Brown, no stranger to leftist policies, refused to expand Medi-Cal to all illegal immigrants because he recognized how unsustainable it was.
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Under Newsom, however, legal residents are now footing the bill, not only through skyrocketing taxes but also in the form of reduced access to healthcare services.
“The public deserves answers: Why are the costs so much higher than what Newsom promised? What is Newsom’s plan to fix the financial disaster he created?”
Just days after the Newsom Administration announced a $3.4 billion loan to cover Medi-Cal for illegal immigrants, they are now scrambling to secure an additional $2.8 billion just to keep the program solvent through June.
That’s a staggering $6.2 billion over budget…and the…
— Brian W. Jones (@SenBrianJones) March 18, 2025
Last year, California proudly became the first state to expand full Medi-Cal benefits to low-income adults aged 26 to 49, regardless of immigration status.
Predictably, the result was a financial meltdown. Currently, around 1.6 million illegal immigrants are enrolled in the state’s Medi-Cal program, alongside 15 million legal residents.
While the state initially projected that covering illegal immigrants would cost roughly $6 billion in the 2024-2025 fiscal year, those estimates are already outdated.
Newsom’s revised budget now puts the figure at $8.4 billion for 2024-2025, with an expected $7.4 billion to follow in 2025-2026.
During a recent budget hearing, Michelle Bass, the director of the Department of Health Care Services, admitted that the state grossly underestimated enrollment numbers, calling the situation “unprecedented.”
To make matters worse, California’s healthcare marketplace, Covered California, continues to openly promote these benefits. The agency states on its website that there is no waiting period or restrictions.
“Both lawfully present and not lawfully present individuals can apply through Covered California to see if they are eligible for a health plan through Covered California or Medi-Cal.”
Meanwhile, House Republicans have advanced a proposal to cut $880 billion from Medicaid and similar entitlement programs over the next decade in an effort to curb reckless spending.
But as long as California remains a sanctuary for illegal immigrants, the financial hemorrhaging will continue. Newsom may try to shift the blame, but it’s his policies that created this crisis—and it’s hardworking taxpayers who are left paying the price.
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