California will be the first state to provide all undocumented immigrants with health care, delivering a long-awaited win for immigration and health care campaigners.
According to the Associated Press, Governor Gavin Newsom signed a $307.9 billion operating budget on Thursday, extending coverage to 764,000 people between the ages of 26 and 49. He also committed to ensuring that low-income adults, regardless of their immigration status, are eligible for the state’s Medicaid program by 2024.
“This will represent the biggest expansion of coverage in the nation since the start of the Affordable Care Act in 2014,” Anthony Wright, executive director of Health Access California, told the AP. “In California, we recognize (that) everybody benefits when everyone is covered.”
The state is now “one step closer to ending the outdated and discriminatory policy that prevents undocumented Californians from accessing affordable health care,” according to state senator Maria Elena Durazo.
“This is a victory for the millions of undocumented Californians who contribute $3.7 billion in state and local taxes and over $40 billion in spending power to our economy every year,” Durazo wrote.
