California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) requested a nearly $3 billion loan to cover Medi-Cal expenses. The new $2.8 billion loan request comes in addition to a $3.44 billion loan approved earlier this month.
The state initially estimated a $6 billion funding gap for Medi-Cal, but that figure has since risen to $9.5 billion, American Faith reported. The expansion of Medi-Cal eligibility to all residents, regardless of immigration status, has placed additional strain on the program, which is funded by both state and federal taxpayer dollars.
Discussing whether he would end the program for illegal immigrants, Newsom told reporters, “Not on my docket.”
“This was something we previewed in the January budget, something I previewed in other conversations with other governors in December at the Democratic Governors Association as an issue we’re seeing all across the country,” he said.
Director of the Department of Health Care Services Michelle Bass said that with the additional loan, the state “anticipates being able to manage expenditures for the remainder of the current year.”
California Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones condemned the loan request, writing on social media, “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 costs keep climbing with no end in sight. Californians should not be forced to shoulder the burden of radical Democrats’ reckless financial mismanagement.”
Jones stated that California taxpayers “deserve transparency and accountability, not another blank check for Newsom’s failed political stunts.”
