Gavin Newsom is putting new conditions on a program offering healthcare to illegal migrants as the state continues to face a budget crisis, though he claims its Donald Trump’s fault.
California is facing a $12 billion deficit thanks in part to the progressive liberal – who may have presidential ambitions – policies, including a state-funded health care program for immigrants living in California without legal status.
The deep blue state was among one of the first states to extend free health care benefits to all poor adults regardless of their immigration status last year, an ambitious plan touted by Newsom to help the nation´s most populous state inch closer to a goal of universal health care.
But the cost ran $2.7 billion more than the administration had anticipated. The state has more than 1.6 million people without legal status enrolled in its health care program this fiscal year, according to the budget.
Under Newsom’s plan, low-income adults without legal status will no longer be eligible to apply for Medi-Cal, the state’s Medicaid program, starting in 2026.
Those who are already enrolled won’t be kicked off their plans, and the changes won’t impact children. Newsom didn’t say how long the freeze would last.
A spokesman for Newsom told DailyMail.com that these are ‘new rules to curtail costs’ before laying the blame at the feet of President Trump.
‘To be very clear, these proposals are the results of a $16 billion Trump Slump and higher-than-expected health care utilization,’ Izzy Gardon said.
‘Because of these outside factors, the state must take difficult but necessary steps to ensure fiscal stability and preserve the long-term viability of Medi-Cal for all Californians.’
Newsom in March suggested he was not considering rolling back health benefits for immigrants as the state was grappling with a $6.2 billion Medicaid shortfall.
He also repeatedly defended the expansion, saying it saves the state money in the long run.
The program is state-funded and does not use federal dollars.
Under Newsom’s plan, low-income adults without legal status will no longer be eligible to apply for Medi-Cal, the state’s Medicaid program, starting in 2026.
Those who are already enrolled won’t be kicked off their plans, and the changes won’t impact children.
Newsom didn’t say how long the freeze would last.
Starting in 2027, adults with ‘unsatisfactory immigration status’ on Medi-Cal will also have to pay a $100 monthly premium.
The governor’s office said that is in line with the average cost paid by those who are on subsidized heath plans through California’s own marketplace.
There is no premium for most people currently on Medi-Cal.
‘We believe that people should have some skin in the game as it relates to contributions,’ Newsom said.
Newsom’s office estimated the changes will save the state $5.4 billion by fiscal year 2028-2029.
The Medi-Cal expansion, combined with other factors such as rising pharmacy costs and larger enrollment by older people, has forced California to borrow and authorize new funding to plug the multibillion hole earlier this year.
California provides free health care to more than a third of its 39 million people.
Newsom, 57, was among the Democrats’ most articulate surrogates last year, even as he brushed off speculation he was seeking the White House and made the case to reelect President Biden.
‘I’d love him to run for president on the other side,’ Trump said of Newsom last week.
Newsom has clashed with a number of Trump policies but recently offered to work with the president on a $7.5 billion film production tax credit after Trump’s stunning proposal to slap a 100 percent tariff on films ‘produced in foreign lands.’
He brought up Newsom in a backhanded way, once again turning his name into an insult by calling him ‘Gavin New-scum’ while seated alongside new Canadian PM Mark Carney, at an event where Trump softened his push to make Canada the 51st state by saying it ‘takes two to tango.’
Trump, 78, started tearing into a high-speed rail project that California voters approved back in 2008, with costs ballooning to an estimated $100 billion.
As Trump described it in the Oval Office, it is a ‘little train going from San Francisco to Los Angeles that’s being run by Gavin New-scum, the governor of California.’
‘He has got that train is the worst cost overrun I’ve ever seen. It’s like totally out of control,’ Trump said.
He complained that it’s ‘hundreds of billions of dollars for this stupid project that should have never been built.’