News

Fight Looms Over Medi-Cal for Adult Immigrants Without Papers

Published

9 years ago

February 29, 2016

By David Gorn, California Healthline

A plan to offer full state-sponsored health benefits for adult immigrants without papers is likely to spark one of the biggest political fights of the year in Sacramento.

Sen. Ricardo Lara, D-Bell Gardens, introduced a bill last year to extend full Medi-Cal benefits to everyone living in California, regardless of immigration status. The scope of that bill was narrowed to cover only children, and it is now law.

An estimated 240,000 undocumented children will become eligible in May for full coverage through Medi-Cal, California’s version of Medicaid, which provides health care for people with low incomes.

The next step, Lara believes, is to extend that coverage to 1.2 million adult immigrants living in California without legal documents and without health insurance.

Covering children without papers is one thing, but providing the same benefits to adults, who vastly outnumber the children, is a far more expensive — and contentious — proposition.

Some critics point to the cost — hundreds of millions of dollars. Others say it is simply wrong to spend tax dollars on people who, they say, have no right to be here.

Proponents say unauthorized immigrants are part of the state’s economic fabric and it benefits no one if they are sick.

“There’s a lot of momentum right now for this, it will definitely be at the forefront this year,” said Jesse Melgar, a spokesman for Lara.

Cost is the big issue, said Lucien Wulsin, executive director of the Insure the Uninsured Project. Initial estimates have ranged widely: The UC Berkeley Labor Center estimates $350 million a year while an Assembly analysis says it could hit $740 million.

Melgar said Lara wants to wait for the Senate budget analysis before targeting specific funding sources. “Right now it’s premature to discuss cost estimates,” he said.

Melgar noted that Gov. Brown “strongly supported” Medi-Cal coverage for the children, and said Lara hopes to work out a plan with the governor’s office to pay for the adults.

For some people, money is not the main issue.

No matter the price tag, it’s not how we should be spending our tax dollars, said Jon Coupal, president of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association.

“I think it’s horrible policy” and it would be “a magnet for more of the undocumented to come to this state,” Coupal said. “I think it’s hard to look taxpayers in the eye and say you want to provide medical care for people who don’t have a legal right to be here. It’s just not fair.”

But immigrants, including those undocumented, are a workforce reality in California, said Laurel Lucia, health care program manager at the U.C. Berkeley Labor Center.

She said that immigrants without papers constitute about nine percent of the state’s workforce, “and having a healthy workforce is important to all of us.”

Lucia noted that of the estimated 1.2 million immigrants in California who are undocumented and uninsured, roughly 870,000 receive federally funded emergency services.

The initial costs of full Medi-Cal coverage, she said, could be a little lower than expected because of the emergency care those immigrants receive. If people get no care at all, they tend to have more untreated conditions that can drive up the cost of treating them later, she explained.

Coverage of adults, Lucia added, could also lead to better coverage for children, since many eligible kids in families of mixed-immigration status go without care.

“About three-quarters of the households headed by an undocumented adult have a citizen in the family, and often a citizen child,” she said. “The whole family might not sign up for coverage, even if they’re eligible.”

The demographics of those targeted by Lara’s plan could make Medi-Cal coverage less expensive than average, Wulsin said. “That population tends to be a younger, low-using population.”

A political wild card could dramatically shift the conversation, such as the status of President Obama’s executive order granting temporary work permits and a reprieve from deportation to five million undocumented present immigrants across the country.

A federal district court suspended the order, and the Supreme Court is expected to hear the case this spring. If it is allowed to take effect, the cost of Lara’s proposal could go down. With work permits in hand, many adults who are here without official immigration papers would get better jobs and could afford their own insurance, or get it through employers.

In Sacramento, the powerful Latino caucus sets its policy agenda at the start of April. How high the issue lands on that list will help determine its fate this year.

Melgar noted that the caucus made health coverage for the undocumented its top priority last year.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Activism

Oakland Post: Week of December 25 – 31, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of December 25 – 31, 2024

Published

2 hours ago

December 26, 2024

Oakland Post

To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Bay Area

Glydways Breaking Ground on 14-Acre Demonstration Facility at Hilltop Mall

Glydways has been testing its technology at CCTA’s GoMentum Station in Concord for several years. The company plans to install an ambitious 28-mile Autonomous Transit Network in East Contra Costa County. The new Richmond facility will be strategically positioned near that project, according to Glydways.

Published

2 days ago

December 24, 2024

Oakland Post

Image of planned Richmond facility courtesy of Glydways.

The Richmond Standard

Glydways, developer of microtransit systems using autonomous, small-scale vehicles, is breaking ground on a 14-acre Development and Demonstration Facility at the former Hilltop Mall property in Richmond, the Contra Costa Transportation Authority (CCTA) reported on social media.

Glydways, which released a statement announcing the project Monday, is using the site while the mall property undergoes a larger redevelopment.

“In the interim, Glydways will use a portion of the property to showcase its technology and conduct safety and reliability testing,” the company said.

The new Richmond development hub will include “over a mile of dedicated test track, enabling Glydways to refine its solutions in a controlled environment while simulating real-world conditions,” the company said.

Visitors to the facility will be able to experience on-demand travel, explore the control center and visit a showroom featuring virtual reality demonstrations of Glydways projects worldwide.

The hub will also house a 13,000-square-foot maintenance and storage facility to service the growing fleet of Glydcars.

“With this new facility [at the former Hilltop Mall property], we’re giving the public a glimpse of the future, where people can experience ultra-quiet, on-demand transit—just like hailing a rideshare, but with the reliability and affordability of public transit,” said Tim Haile, executive director of CCTA.

Janet Galvez, vice president and investment officer at Prologis, owner of the Hilltop Mall property, said her company is “thrilled” to provide space for Glydways and is continuing to work with the city on future redevelopment plans for the broader mall property.

Richmond City Manager Shasa Curl added that Glydways’ presence “will not only help test new transit solutions but also activate the former Mall site while preparation and finalization of the Hilltop Horizon Specific Plan is underway.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Alameda County

Last City Council Meeting of the Year Ends on Sour Note with Big Budget Cuts

In a five to one vote, with Councilmembers Carroll Fife and Janani Ramachandran excused, the council passed a plan aimed at balancing the $130 million deficit the city is facing. Noel Gallo voted against the plan, previously citing concerns over public safety cuts, while Nikki Fortunato-Bas, Treva Reid, Rebecca Kaplan, Kevin Jenkins, and Dan Kalb voted in agreement with the plan.

Published

2 days ago

December 24, 2024

Oakland Post

Oakland City Council voted on a plan to balance the $130 million deficit at their last regular meeting of 2024. The plan reduces police spending by $25 million, temporarily closes two fire stations, and guts the cultural arts programs. iStock photo.

By Magaly Muñoz

In the last lengthy Tuesday meeting of the Oakland City Council for 2024, residents expressed strong opposition to the much needed budget cuts before a change in leadership was finalized with the certification of election results.

Oakland police and fire departments, the ambassador program, and city arts and culture will all see significant cuts over the course of two phases.

Phase 1 will eliminate two police academies, brown out two fire stations, eliminate the ambassador program, and reduce police overtime by nearly $25 million. These, with several other cuts across departments, aim to save the city $60 million. In addition, the council simultaneously approved to transfer restricted funds into its general purpose fund, amounting to over $40 million.

Phase 2 includes additional fire station brownouts and the elimination of 91 jobs, aiming to recover almost $16 million in order to balance the rest of the budget.

Several organizations and residents spoke out at the meeting in hopes of swaying the council to not make cuts to their programs.

East Oakland Senior Center volunteers and members, and homeless advocates, filled the plaza just outside of City Hall with rallies to show their disapproval of the new budget plan. Senior residents told the council to “remember that you’ll get old too” and that disturbing their resources will only bring problems for an already struggling community.

While city staff announced that there would not be complete cuts to senior center facilities, there would be significant reductions to staff and possibly inter-program services down the line.

Exiting council member and interim mayor Bas told the public that she is still hopeful that the one-time $125 million Coliseum sale deal will proceed in the near future so that the city would not have to continue with drastic cuts. The deal was intended to save the city for fiscal year 2024-25, but a hold up at the county level has paused any progress and therefore millions of dollars in funds Oakland desperately needs.

The Coliseum sale has been a contentious one. Residents and city leaders were originally against using the deal as a way to balance the budget, citing doubts about the sellers, the African American Sports and Entertainment Group’s (AASEG), ability to complete the deal. Council members Reid, Ramachandran, and Gallo have called several emergency meetings to understand where the first installments of the sale are, with little to no answers.

Bas added that as the new Alameda County Supervisor for D5, a position she starts in a few weeks, she will do everything in her power to push the Coliseum sale along.

The city is also considering a sales tax measure to put on the special election ballot on April 15, 2025, which will also serve as an election to fill the now vacant D2 and mayor positions. The tax increase would raise approximately $29 million annually for Oakland, allowing the city to gain much-needed revenue for the next two-year budget.

The council will discuss the possible sales tax measure on January 9.