On Sunday afternoon lawmakers at the Capitol in Sacramento reached agreement on a proposal to make California the first state in the nation to pay full health care benefits for some adults living in the country illegally.
Democrats approved the deal as part of a larger $213 billion state spending plan for the coming fiscal year. It means poorer undocumented adults between the ages of 19 and 25 who are living in California would be eligible to sign up for California's Medicaid program. That is the state and federal health insurance program for the poor and disabled.
There are be limits in this proposal, since only illegal immigrants who meet the low income standards would qualify for the assistance. It has been estimated that close to 90,000 people would be eligible at a cost to taxpayers of approximately $98 million per year.
Another part of the proposal would reportedly also make California the first state in the country to provide assistance health insurance assistance to middle class families. It would allow a family of four to earn more than $150,000 a year, which around six times the national poverty level, and still get as much as $100 per month in government subsidies to pay a portion of their health insurance premiums.
So, how do lawmakers plan to pay for the expanded health care benefits? The state would tax people who do not have health insurance. If that sounds familiar it should. The individual health insurance mandate was federal law under former President Barack Obama's Affordable Care Act and helped to fund the national health care exchange as well as various state exchanges, including Covered California. Republicans in Congress eliminated the individual mandate in their 2017 tax code overhaul.
The proposal does not go into affect until the budget agreement is approved by the full state Legislature. However, the Legislature is controlled by the Democrats, so it appears passage is likely.