U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton addresses the media at a press conference after her meetings during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders’ Week in Vladivostok, Russia, September 9, 2012. [State Department photo by William Ng/Public Domain]
Health Coverage for Individuals Unlawfully Present
This move has drawn the most attention, as the budget bill expands Medicaid coverage to illegally present adults aged 19-26. California will pay the full share of this Medicaid spending, as the federal government will not subsidize health coverage for foreign citizens illegally present in the United States.
Sad as it may sound, expanding coverage to “only” some law-breaking foreigners represented a compromise. Liberal lawmakers originally wanted to expand Medicaid to all illegal residents, at a cost of $3.4 billion. But California Gov. Gavin Newsom objected to the price tag, so lawmakers agreed to fund benefits solely for the 19-26 population, and delayed its implementation until January 1, 2020.
As to those who disagree with this move, one can study the words of none other than Hillary Clinton. In 1993, she testified before Congress in opposition to giving illegal residents full health benefits, because “illegal aliens” were coming to the United States for health care even then:
We do not think the comprehensive health care benefits should be extended to those who are undocumented workers and illegal aliens. We do not want to do anything to encourage more illegal immigration into this country. We know now that too many people come in for medical care, as it is. We certainly don’t want them having the same benefits that American citizens are entitled to have.
If Clinton’s words don’t sound compelling enough, consider one way that California may finance these new benefits: By reinstating Obamacare’s individual mandate. To put it another way, people who obey the law (i.e., the mandate) will fund free health coverage for people who by definition have broken the law by coming to, or remaining in, the United States unlawfully.
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