California has become the first state to offer taxpayer-funded health benefits to young adults living in the country illegally.
Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill into law on Tuesday that makes low-income adults age 25 and younger eligible for the state’s Medicaid program regardless of their immigration status.
The plan expands current rules, which already cover all children under 18, including undocumented immigrants.
State officials expect the plan to cover about 90,000 people and cost taxpayers $98 million.
Republican President Donald Trump called the move ‘crazy.’
Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill into law on Tuesday that makes low-income adults age 25 and younger eligible for the state’s Medicaid program regardless of their immigration status
He said California doesn’t ‘treat their people as well as they treat illegal immigrants.’‘
‘At what point does it stop? It’s crazy what they are doing,’ he said. ‘And it’s mean. And it’s very unfair to our citizens, and we’re going to stop it. But we may need an election to stop it, and we may need to get back the House.’
The law will not give health insurance benefits to everyone 25 and younger, but only those whose income is low enough to qualify.
Newsom and Democratic legislative leaders say they plan to further expand coverage to more adults in the years to come.
Advocates of the measure say it’s a way to improve the health of immigrants in the state by providing them with access to the medical care they need.
Many immigrants who are in the country illegally are already enrolled in some government-funded programs, but they only cover emergencies and pregnancies.
Democrats had pushed to expand the coverage to even more adults, but Newsom rejected the proposals, saying it would cost about $3.4 billion to provide coverage to all California adults living in the country illegally.
But he has vowed to keep expanding coverage in future years.
Newsom told a crowd of supporters at Sacramento City College ‘we’re going to get the rest of that done.’
‘Mark my words,’ Newsom said. ‘We’re going to make progress next year and the year after on that. That’s what universal health care means. Everybody, not just some folks.’
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