California Governor Gavin Newsom will present his revised 2025-2026 state budget at a press conference in Sacramento, California on Wednesday, May 14, 2025.
Rich Pedron Seri/AP
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Rich Pedron Seri/AP
The Democratic governor of the state, offering health insurance coverage for immigrants without legal status, suggests rolling back the scope they signed into law.
As states tackle budget holes, efforts to limit access to the program are becoming a common thread. The discussion about rolling back coverage or eliminating it will be fully undertaken as Congress considers the proposal Reduce state Medicaid funds from 90% to 80% Provide health insurance coverage to immigrants without appropriate permission.
California
On Wednesday, Governor Gavin Newsom announced it He wants to freeze new registrations For fraudulent people over the age of 19 on Medi-Cal, a California insurance plan for low-income people, starting in January 2026, you will be charged a monthly premium of $100. There are exceptions to pregnant people and emergency care.
“I don’t want to be in this position, but we are in this position,” Newsom said.
California expanded its MEDI-CAL to provide health insurance coverage in 2024 with 1.6 million immigrants in California, including all adults without legal status, currently through the program. Under the proposal, those already registered by the end of the year will still be eligible for compensation, but other adults without legal status were not allowed.
Republicans who had opposed the expansion of the program from the start criticised Newsom for continuing to spend their time on compensation based on his latest proposal.
“The governor has shown his priorities,” said James Gallagher, a Republican who is a minority leader in the California Legislature. “He wants to continue spending healthcare for illegal immigrants: billions and billions of dollars.”
The Democratic governor is also facing pushbacks from state legislators of his own party, including members of the Latin Caucus in Congress, who say they will fight to maintain some form of coverage for those without legal status in the final month of budget negotiations.
“We can see budget cut options elsewhere,” said Democrat Sen. Lena Gonzalez, who chairs the Latin Caucus of legislation. “We can be a little more concerned about how we do this without constantly seeing the least-served communities.”
Experts, lawmakers and Newsom point out that the state pays for compensation either way. As people without health insurance often seek emergency care, some lawmakers and supporters were pushing for first widening access so that people could take care of them regularly, like doctor visits and prescription drugs.
State lawmakers have given Medicaid access to undocumented immigrants, hospital administrators and faith groups, together with immigration advocates, are calling for greater benefits.
Minnesota
That’s true in Minnesota. There, proposals to exclude state health insurance coverage for domestic adults without approval emerged as part of the compromise budget framework.
It prompted immediate opposition from some Democrats and immigration advocates.
Minnesota Governor Tim Waltz will speak at the City Hall Conference held at the Deyor Performing Arts Center on April 7, 2025 in Youngstown, Ohio.
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On Thursday, a group of Democrats slammed the door of the room where former vice presidential candidate Gov. Tim Waltz was planning budget plans with legislative leaders.
They cried out, “You’re killing our community,” and said they voted against a 2026 provision to disqualify adult immigrants without legal status in Minnesota Care, the state’s Medicaid program.
In 2023, Democrats passed a bill that grants everyone in the country without legal status access to state-funded health insurance, and Walz signed it. The program came into effect in January and has registered more than 20,000 non-legal status enrolled, including around 3,000 children.
Waltz and Democrat legislative leaders said they opposed the change but had to accept it as part of the budget framework. The state legislature said it is almost split with 101 Democrats and 100 Republicans, and should accept the proposal, a priority for GOP lawmakers.
“I’m not going to sugar coat how difficult this is,” Waltz said as lawmakers knocked on the door outside a press conference. “We didn’t expect anyone to be happy with this. I think a lot of us have compromised.”
Republican state legislator Lisa Demus agreed that it could help deduct the $6 billion budget deficit projected over the next four years.
“It’s not an uncompassionate measure. It’s a financial issue and there’s still an opportunity,” Demus said. “They can still participate in the private market, so healthcare is not being rejected in any way,” she added. “We had to make tough decisions in that room. When we looked at the numbers and looked ahead, this was a compromise that we were all able to come to negotiate. No one would be totally happy.”
Some democratic lawmakers who fought for the program say they oppose the rollback. Without their vote, the wider Health Budget Bill measures could stall.
“We have protected children, which are very noble things, but those children lose moms, dads, grandfathers, aunts, uncles and siblings,” said Senator Cedric Frazier, co-chair of Minnesotans in the Color and Indigenous Caucus. “That’s what we’re facing here today.”
If Minnesota lawmakers fail to pass the budget by July 1, they could face state shutdowns.
