California Gov. Gavin Newsom, only days after receiving a $3.44 billion loan, requested an additional $2.8 billion from the state to fund Medi-Cal, the state’s health care program that covers illegal immigrants, his office has confirmed.
The decision drew more criticism on Monday from state leaders who claim the rapidly ballooning program was unfairly burdening Californians.
Newsom’s office again denied that the extra costs were the result of providing health care services to illegal immigrants, adding he planned to work with legislative leadership to tighten the budget.
“With tough fiscal choices ahead, Governor Newsom, jointly with Senate [President Mike] McGuire and [Assembly Speaker Robert] Rivas, will evaluate proposals to rein in long-term spending—including in Medi-Cal—while working to protect the core health and social services Californians rely on,” the governor’s spokeswoman, Elana Ross, told The Epoch Times in an email on Tuesday.
Program costs for Medi-Cal have more than doubled in the last decade from nearly $89 billion in the 2014–15 budget to more than $188 billion in the 2025–26 fiscal year.
The massive program has also been effected by increased drug prices and hospital visits, costing the state billions more, according to Newsom’s office.
California’s Medicaid program is a public health care coverage plan that provides services at no or low cost for low-income people and covers about 15 million Californians, or about one-third of the state’s population, according to the governor’s office.
Medi-Cal’s funding includes $174.6 billion in the 2024–25 adopted budget and $188.1 billion for the 2025–26 fiscal year.
On March 12, the finance department reported its approval of the $3.44 billion loan to pay for Medi-Cal’s cost overruns.
Newsom’s office disputed Republicans’ claims that the loan was needed to cover costs related to illegal immigrant healthcare coverage, saying the additional funding wasn’t new.
The governor’s office claims rising costs are a national challenge, affecting Republican-led states and Democratic-led states alike.
State legislators passed a controversial law in 2022, making California the first state to offer free health care to all low-income illegal immigrants. The law came into effect in 2024.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks in Los Angeles on Sep. 25, 2024. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)
The program was designed to provide about 764,000 people with free health care coverage through Medi-Cal at an estimated cost of $2.7 billion each year, while illegal border crossings continued to soar to record levels under President Joe Biden.
California is now one of 35 states to offer the free or low-cost insurance to migrants.
Some state lawmakers were critical about the loan request Monday, pointing to the state’s decision to cover illegal immigrants.
Republican state Senate Leader Brian Jones said the costs of Medi-Cal keep climbing with “no end in sight.”
“Californians should not be forced to shoulder the burden of radical Democrats’ reckless financial mismanagement,” Jones wrote in a post on social media platform X on Monday. “Even [former Gov.] Jerry Brown refused to expand Medi-Cal to all illegal immigrants because he knew it was fiscally irresponsible and unsustainable.”
Under Newsom, Jones said residents are paying the price both financially and in reduced access to healthcare.
The senator also called for transparency and accountability.
Republican Assemblyman David Tangipa, of Fresno, also commented about the loan on X Monday.
“Weaponization of altruism is destroying our state,” Tangipa wrote. “We cannot continue to put illegal immigrants above California citizens, it will bankrupt us.”
