Magazine, Immigration, ABC News
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — About 40,000 low-income adults living in the country illegally won’t lose their government-funded health insurance over the next year under a new policy announced Monday by California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration.
California already pays for the health care expenses of low-income adults 25 and younger, regardless of their immigration status. A new law scheduled to take effect in January 2024 would extend those benefits to cover all adults who, but for their immigration status, would qualify for the state’s Medicaid program.
But between now and when that new law takes effect in 2024, about 40,000 young adults who already have Medicaid in California are expected to lose their benefits because they are older than 25. Monday, the state Department of Health Care Services announced it would continue to cover those young adults through the end of 2023 to make sure they won’t lose their benefits.
“Providing continuous coverage means that tens of thousands of young Californians won’t face a disruption in care, keeping them covered and healthier as a result,” said Jose Torres Casillas, policy and legislative advocate for Health Access California, a consumer health care advocacy group. “California is again leading the way in making our health care system work better for all communities, regardless of income, age, or immigration status.”
Nationwide, about 22.1 million people were living in the country illegally in 2020, or about 7% of the population, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, a health care nonprofit. These people are not eligible for most federal public benefit programs, even though many have jobs and pay taxes.
