California To Offer Free Health Care To Illegal Immigrants: $2 Billion Annual Taxpayer Cost

California will be the first state to offer free health care to individuals coming into the country illegally.

QUICK FACTS:
  • Following a budget deal by Governor Gavin Newsom along with Democrats in the legislature, The Golden State will now cover Medi-Cal for all residents, including illegal aliens.
  • The program, which is set to launch no later than the beginning of 2024, is expected to insure approximately 700,000 illegals ages 26 to 49, Breitbart reported.
  • California’s Legislative Analyst’s Office estimated this expansion of Medi-Cal will cost taxpayers $2.6 billion annually. 
CALIFORNIA DEMOCRAT MIGUEL SANTIAGO ON PROVIDING FREE HEALTH CARE TO ILLEGALS:

“IT’S ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT PIECES OF LEGISLATION THAT’S GONNA GO THROUGH THIS HOUSE BECAUSE THE ABILITY TO GIVE HEALTH CARE MEANS THE ABILITY TO LIVE LIFE WITHOUT PAIN,” SANTIAGO SAID.

BACKGROUND:
  • For years, immigration advocates have been pushing for the state to open benefits to all illegal aliens, beginning in 2015 when California started allowing undocumented children to join Medi-Cal.
  • “This budget investment reflects California’s values of inclusion and fairness and should be a model for the rest of the nation,” Sarah Dar of the California Immigrant Policy Center said. “All Californians, regardless of their age or where they were born, should have access to basic necessities like food and fair, steady wages.”
  • According to Senator María Elena Durazo of Los Angeles, providing illegal immigrants health care “speaks to California’s commitment to health care as a human right.”

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