Cutting Back Now That They Have to Pay for It

(Image from Newsweek)

States controlled by progressives are cutting back medical care to undocumented immigrants: [bold added]

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has proposed freezing enrollment of undocumented adults into the state’s Medicaid program for the poor and disabled. Instead of receiving essentially free coverage, those already enrolled would be required to pay $100 monthly premiums starting in 2027. Newsom floated his proposal after the state program, Medi-Cal, went $6.2 billion over budget this year.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker recently signed off on a state budget that cut funding for health coverage of undocumented adults ages 42-64. Benefits will end for that group at the end of June. The program was initially expected to cost $112 million annually, but quickly ballooned to a projected $800 million a year that was “unsustainable,” a spokesman for Pritzker said.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the former Democratic vice presidential nominee, agreed to end a health insurance program for undocumented adults in a deal with state Republicans to pass a new budget this month.

And in Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser has proposed phasing out coverage for undocumented people over the age of 21.

After ambitiously expanding health programs to undocumented adults during the pandemic, some states are grappling with far higher-than-expected costs and dwindling budget reserves that had been buoyed by federal dollars related to Covid-19....

Medicaid programs are funded by a mix of state and federal dollars. But states are barred by law from using federal funds to cover undocumented immigrants, placing the entire burden for covering them on states. And unlike the federal government, which often relies on deficit spending, states have to balance their budgets, leaving less wiggle room in tight economic times...

California expects its general fund spending on undocumented healthcare to be $10.8 billion in its next fiscal year, up nearly 50% from the governor’s original budget. About 1.7 million undocumented immigrants are covered under the program.

Some public opinion polls show shrinking support among Californians for covering undocumented immigrants amid the state’s budget crunch. A recent poll by the Public Policy Institute of California found that 58% of adults oppose providing the coverage, whereas majorities had supported the idea in surveys from 2015 to 2023.

When citizens are having difficulty paying for their own health care, there's no voting constituency that supports funding for non-citizens. With Congress under control of Republicans whose states do not pay for undocumented-immigrants' health care, progressive states can no longer look to Washington for help.

Elections have consequences.