California Gov. Gavin Newsom, D-Calif., recently signed a law regulating additives used in popular foods in California. (MediaNews Group/East Bay Times via Getty Images)
The additional $2.8 billion would keep the health care program afloat through June.
Newsom's office pushed back on the skyrocketing healthcare costs being solely due to illegal immigrants on the programs. Instead, they attribute the increases to higher overall enrollment for all populations and pharmaceutical costs. The administration also pointed to other states, Pennsylvania and Indiana, which are also facing budget shortfalls in their Medicaid programs.
However, Republicans in the legislature, who have been hounding against increased spending in the state for years, blame the state's policies as the culprit for the under-projection.
"That’s a staggering $6.2 billion over budget...and the costs keep climbing with no end in sight," California Senate Republican Minority Leader, Brian Jones, wrote in a post on X on Monday. "Californians should not be forced to shoulder the burden of radical Democrats' reckless financial mismanagement."
"Even Jerry Brown refused to expand Medi-Cal to all illegal immigrants because he knew it was fiscally irresponsible and unsustainable," Jones wrote. "Now under Newsom, legal residents are paying the price both financially and in reduced access to healthcare. The public deserves answers: Why are the costs so much higher than what Newsom promised? What is Newsom’s plan to fix the financial disaster he created?"
NEWSOM'S 'UNFAIR' REMARK ON GIRLS' SPORTS BELIES RECORD AS GOVERNOR: 'ABSOLUTE BULLS---'
(Republican lawmakers in Sacramento say state policies that allow illegal immigrants to enroll in Medi-Cal are partly to blame for the massive budget shortfall.)
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Newsom's latest budget proposal projects that California will spend $8.4 billion to cover illegal immigrants in Medi-Cal for 2024-2025, followed by $7.4 billion in 2025-2026. During a budget hearing with legislators, Michelle Bass, director of the Department of Health Care Services – which manages Medi-Cal – the state significantly underestimated the number of illegal immigrant enrollees last year.
Bass said during the hearing the department had just one month of data on the new "unprecedented" policies before it had to make projections for the budget signed by Newsom, "and all happened at once."
Jamie Joseph is a U.S. Politics reporter for Fox News Digital covering transgender and culture issues, the Departments of Education and Health and Human Services, and stateside legislative developments.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/newsom-asks-nearly-another-3b-state-health-program-overwhelmed-illegal-immigrants