The Democrat super-majority in the California state legislature passed the new state budget that includes funding to let young illegal immigrant young adults under age 26 enroll in Medi-Cal, the state’s health insurance program for low-income Californians.
That expansion will take effect Jan. 1, 2020 and cost $98 million in the upcoming fiscal year. It makes California the first state to allow illegal immigrant adults to sign up for state-funded health coverage.
The budget includes an Obamacare like health insurance mandate that fines people without coverage.Democrat lawmakers say re-imposing the penalty at the state level will shore up the state’s health insurance marketplace and keep premiums from rising dramatically.
Revenue from the mandate will fund insurance premium subsidies for middle income people.