California: Reward Illegal Immigrants, Punish Taxpayers
Once again, California puts the interest of illegal immigrants over its own citizens. The state will become the first state in the country to pay for illegal immigrants to have full health benefits. California’s Medicaid, “Medi-Cal,” will pay for tens of thousands of illegal immigrants with costs estimated to be about $98 million per year.
How are they going to pay for it? For part of it, the state will implement an individual-mandate penalty fee (very similar to ObamaCare) for people who don’t have health insurance. For the rest, taxpayers will be responsible for the hefty bill. Will that be enough?
Under an agreement between Gov. Gavin Newsom and Democrats in the state legislature, low-income adults between the ages of 19 and 25 living in California illegally would be eligible for California’s Medicaid program, known as Medi-Cal. The deal emerged as part of a broader $213 billion budget.
The plan would take effect in January 2020, the Sacramento Bee reported.
State officials have estimated the benefits would be available to about 90,000 low-income illegal immigrants at a cost of $98 million per year.
“While it’s not all we sought, it will provide a real tangible difference for people, especially for those around and below poverty and for middle income families who don’t get any help under the federal law,” Anthony Wright, executive director of advocacy group Health Access, said. Indeed, a family of four earning as much as six times the federal poverty level — or more than $150,000 a year — would be eligible to get about $100 a month from the government to help pay their monthly health insurance premiums.
While the number of illegal immigrants coming through our borders continues to rise, they’re settling mostly in California. That number will go up as more immigrants pour into the state and into the country. The people who will suffer from this are the taxpayers who are trying to pay for their own health care.
California lawmakers are rewarding illegal immigrants and punishing law-abiding, taxpaying citizens. Such a plan will destroy the American Dream for those who work so hard to achieve and drive more residents to flee a state that gives them very little financial freedom.