California lawmakers to back proposal to freeze health care access for some migrants
Their plan is a scaled-back version of a proposal Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom introduced in May. California, with the largest state budget in the country, is facing a deficit for the third year in a row. This year's budget shortfall has forced Democratic leaders to start cutting back on several liberal policy priorities, including to the landmark health care expansion for low-income adult immigrants without legal status.
8 Governor Gavin Newsom speaking at a press conference.
JOHN G MABANGLO/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
The vote comes as tensions escalate in Los Angeles over President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown across Southern California. As protesters took to the streets and, at times, clashed with law enforcement in dayslong demonstrations, Trump said protests had turned violent and activated more than 4,000 National Guard members and 700 Marines over the objections of city and state leaders. The demonstrations have largely been peaceful. California has sued the federal government to stop the deployment.
The decision to freeze Medicaid enrollment highlights Democratic state leaders' struggle to protect progressive priorities against budget challenges. Illinois and Minnesota, also led by Democratic governors, are on track to end health care access to low-income adults without legal status after facing budget shortfalls.
8 Supporters of proposals to expand California's government-funded health care benefits to undocumented immigrants gather at the Capitol for the Immigrants Day of Action on May 20, 2019.
AP
8 Protestors holding signs advocating for guaranteed healthcare in California.
AP
8 Protestors holding signs against Proposition 187.
TNS
It is not the state's final spending plan. Newsom and legislative leaders are still negotiating solutions before the start of the new fiscal year on July 1. Lawmakers must pass a balanced budget by Sunday or else they would forfeit their salaries. Democratic state leaders are also bracing for potential federal cuts to health care programs and other broad economic uncertainty such as federal tariff policies that could force them to make even deeper cuts.
Republican lawmakers say the Legislature's budget doesn't do enough to rein in costs ahead of future deficits.
'We have a structural deficit of ongoing programs continuing to increase at a greater rate than revenues are increasing,' state Sen. Roger Niello said. 'So far, there's nothing seen to reverse that.'
Freezing access and adding premiums
The state has more than 1.6 million people without legal status enrolled in its health care program this fiscal year, according to the budget.
8 Republican lawmakers say the Legislature's budget doesn't do enough to rein in costs ahead of future deficits.
Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
8 Newsom and legislative leaders are still negotiating solutions before the start of the new fiscal year on July 1.
AP
Under Newsom's plan, low-income adults without legal status would no longer be eligible to apply for Medi-Cal, the state's Medicaid program, starting in 2026. Those who are already enrolled wouldn't be kicked off their plans but would have to start paying a $100 monthly premium in 2027. State officials said the plan would help curb future spending and save $5.4 billion by fiscal year 2028-2029.
Lawmakers mostly agreed on the plan to halt enrollment for adults without legal status, but their proposal also includes a provision to allow people to reenroll within six months if they lose coverage for missing payment. The monthly premium would also lower by roughly a third to $30 and would only apply to adults between 19 and 59 under the Legislature's plan. The proposal would save roughly $3.8 billion by fiscal year 2027-2028.
The proposals would likely result in people losing coverage because they can't afford the premiums and send more people into emergency rooms, advocates said.
'This is no way to respond to concerns about the health and safety of communities that power our economy and contribute billions in state taxes,' said Masih Fouladi, Executive Director of the California Immigrant Policy Center.
8 Under Newsom's plan, low-income adults without legal status would no longer be eligible to apply for Medi-Cal, the state's Medicaid program.
AP
8 According to advocates, the proposals would likely result in people losing coverage because they can't afford the premiums and send more people into emergency rooms.
AP
Democrats divided
California was among one of the first states to extend free health care benefits to all low-income adults regardless of their immigration status, an ambitious plan touted by Newsom to help the nation's most populous state inch closer to a goal of universal health care. But the cost ran billions more than the administration had anticipated and is projected to keep growing.
California provides free health care to more than a third of its 39 million people.
Several Democrats said the Medicaid enrollment freeze does not align with California values, adding the Legislature is breaking promises to taxpayers.
'People have already a decreased amount of trust in government and when we continue to go back on our words, it makes it even harder,' State Sen. Caroline Menjivar, a Democrat, said of the proposal at a hearing this week.
Democratic state Sen. Akilah Weber Pierson defended the budget proposal, saying that the plan is not cutting benefits to people who are already enrolled as Legislature also avoided more devastating cuts in social services. Lawmakers rejected the governor's plan to cut funding for a program providing in-home domestic and personal care services for some low-income residents and Californians with disabilities. They also rejected a proposal that would have cut funding for Planned Parenthood's budget by a third.
'No one who is currently covered will lose their health care coverage,' she said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
San Francisco Chronicle
7 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Australia selects Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries for $6.5B warship deal
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Australia said Tuesday it accepted a Japanese company's bid for a lucrative and hotly contested contract to build Australian warships, expected to be worth 10 billion Australian dollars ($6.5 billion). Mitsubishi Heavy Industries' Mogami-class frigate won the deal over rival Germany's MEKO A-200 from Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems. Japan's government lobbied heavily for the deal after missing out on Australia's submarines contract to a French company in 2016. 'This is clearly the biggest defense industry agreement that will ever have been struck between Japan and Australia,' Defense Minister Richard Marles told reporters when he announced the deal Tuesday. 'In fact, it's really one of the biggest defense exports that Japan has ever engaged in.' The fleet of 11 naval vessels will replace Australia's ageing fleet of ANZAC-class ships. Three of the frigates will be built in Japan, with the first scheduled to be operational Australia in 2030, and the remaining eight due for construction in Australia. Australian news outlets reported that the German company's bid had emphasized their vessel's cheaper price and their greater experience building ships abroad. But Pat Conroy, Australia's Minister for Defense Industry, said the Mogami-class frigate was a 'clear winner' when assessed by 'cost, capability and meeting our schedule of delivery.' The vessels have a range of up to 10,000 nautical miles (18,520 kilometers) and 32 vertical launch cells capable of launching long-range missiles. The frigates can operate with a crew of 90, compared to the 170 needed to operate the ANZAC-class ships. Mitsubishi's win was a boon for Japan's defense industry, which has not built naval vessels abroad before. Japan, whose only treaty ally is the United States, considers Australia a semi-ally and has increasingly sought to deepen bilateral military cooperation amid ongoing regional tensions in the disputed South China Sea. 'We welcome the decision by the Australian government as a major step to further elevate Japan's national security cooperation with Australia, which is our special strategic partner,' Japan's Defense Minister Gen Nakatani said Tuesday. Nakatani said co-developing the frigate will allow the two countries to train and operate with the same equipment and further improve operability and efficiency. Japan set up a joint taskforce of government and industry in an effort to win the bid. Australian officials said work on a binding commercial contract with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and the government of Japan would now begin, with a finalized agreement expected in 2026. They did not say how much each ship would cost or confirm a total figure for the package, citing ongoing negotiations. But Conroy said the government had allowed AU$10 billion for the project over the next 10 years. It forms part of the AU$55 billion that Australia has budgeted for the navy's entire surface combatant fleet during the same period. —-
San Francisco Chronicle
7 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Guardians reliever Nic Enright, battling lymphoma, earns emotional first save
NEW YORK (AP) — The first career save for Nic Enright was a particularly meaningful one. Enright, who was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma in late 2022 and is scheduled to complete his treatments later this year, allowed an unearned run in the 10th inning Monday night to close out the Cleveland Guardians' 7-6 win over the New York Mets. 'He was almost crying on the field just now,' Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said. 'If you read his story, it's pretty inspirational.' Cleveland selected Enright in the 20th round of the 2019 amateur draft out of Virginia Tech. He received his diagnosis Dec. 22, 2022 — 15 days after the Miami Marlins took him in the Rule 5 draft. After four rounds of immunotherapy in early 2023, Enright made nine minor league rehab appearances for the Marlins before being designated for assignment and returning to the Guardians in late May. He missed most of last season due to a right shoulder strain, but went 2-1 with a 1.06 ERA in 16 appearances with Triple-A Columbus. The right-hander has one more round of cancer treatment scheduled for November. 'I made the decision when I was diagnosed in 2022 with Hodgkin lymphoma that I wasn't going to let that define my life and dictate how I was going to go about my life,' Enright said. 'It's something where, for anyone else who is going through anything similar, (it shows) I haven't just holed up in my house and felt sorry for myself this whole time.' Enright made his major league debut May 25 and has a 2.01 ERA in 19 appearances for the Guardians, whose bullpen is in flux with All-Star closer Emmanuel Clase on paid leave as part of a sports gambling investigation. Hunter Gaddis and Cade Smith pitched the eighth and ninth innings Monday before Enright entered with a two-run lead. He gave up a two-out RBI single to Brett Baty before retiring Luis Torrens on a fly out to the warning track in right. 'I definitely held my breath as I saw Nolan (Jones) kind of keep running,' Enright said. 'But I had faith. As he kind of got closer to the wall, I realized it was losing steam.' Enright was showered with beer by teammates in the locker room. 'I was so happy, oh, I was going nuts in here,' Guardians starting pitcher Slade Cecconi said with a smile. 'I was going absolutely berserk. He came in running up the stairs, smile on his face.' Enright thanked his wife, his parents and the rest of his family for their support throughout an interview at his locker. He got the ball from the final out and plans to set aside his uniform and hat as well as a lineup card. 'Really, really cool,' Enright said. 'These last couple of years, especially, I've gone through a lot of adversity and just everything that's gone on. And so for me, it's being able to reflect on those in these moments. I think that helps being able to slow the game down. Because it hasn't exactly been a red-carpet rollout for my career trajectory.' ___
San Francisco Chronicle
7 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Mexican ranchers struggle to adapt as a tiny parasite ravages their cattle exports to the US
HERMOSILLO, Mexico (AP) — The United States' suspension of live cattle imports from Mexico hit at the worst possible time for rancher Martín Ibarra Vargas, who after two years of severe drought had hoped to put his family on better footing selling his calves across the northern border. Like his father and grandfather before him, Ibarra Vargas has raised cattle on the parched soil of Sonora, the state in northwestern Mexico that shares a long border with the United States, particularly Arizona. His family has faced punishing droughts before but has never before had to contend with the economic hit of a new scourge: the New World Screwworm, a flesh-eating parasite. U.S. agriculture officials halted live cattle crossing the border in July – the third suspension of the past eight months — due to concerns about the flesh-eating maggot which has been found in southern Mexico and is creeping north. The screwworm is a larva of the Cochliomyia hominivorax fly that can invade the tissues of any warm-blooded animal, including humans. The parasite enters animals' skin, causing severe damage and lesions that can be fatal. Infected animals are a serious threat to herds. The U.S. Department of Agriculture calls it a "devastating pest" and said in June that it poses a threat to 'our livestock industry, our economy, and our food supply chain.' It has embarked on other steps to keep it out of the United States, which eradicated it decades ago. As part of its strategy the U.S. is preparing to breed billions of sterile flies and release them in Mexico and southern Texas. The aim is for the sterile males to mate with females in the wild who then produce no offspring. The U.S. ban on live cattle also applies to horses and bison imports. It hit a ranching sector already weakened by drought and specifically a cattle export business that generated $1.2 billion for Mexico last year. This year, Mexican ranchers have exported fewer than 200,000 head of cattle, which is less than half what they historically send in the same period. For Ibarra Vargas, considered a comparatively small rancher by Sonora's beef-centric standards, the inability to send his calves across the border has made him rethink everything. The repeated bans on Mexican cows by U.S. authorities has pushed his family to branch into beekeeping, raising sheep and selling cow's milk. What he earns is just a fraction of what he earned by exporting live cattle, but he is trying to hold on through the lean times. 'Tiempos de vacas flacas" — times of the lean cows — as he calls them. 'At least it lets us continue' ranching, the 57-year-old said with a white cowboy hat perched on his head. Reinvent to survive Even as ranchers in Sonora intensify their efforts to make sure the parasitic fly never makes it into their state, they've had to seek new markets. In the past two months, they've sold more than 35,000 mature cows within Mexico at a significant loss. 'We couldn't wait any longer,' said Juan Carlos Ochoa, president of the Sonora Regional Cattle Union. Those sales, he said, came at a '35% lower price difference compared with the export value of a cow.' That's hard to stomach when beef prices in the U.S. are rising. The U.S. first suspended cattle imports last November. Since then, more than 2,258 cases of screwworm have been identified in Mexico. Treatment requires a mix of manually removing the maggots, healing the lesions on the cows and using anti-parasite medicine. There are other foreign markets, for example Japan, but selling vacuum sealed steaks across the Pacific is a dramatically different business than driving calves to U.S. feedlots. The switch is not easy. An uncertain future With his calves mooing as they ran from one end of a small corral to the other waiting to be fed, Ibarra Vargas said he still hasn't figured out how he will survive an extended period of not being able to send them to the U.S. The recent two-year drought reduced his cattle stocks and forced him to take on debt to save the small family ranch that has survived for three generations. Juan Carlos Anaya, director of Agricultural Markets Consulting Group, attributed a 2% drop in Mexico's cattle inventory last year to the drought. Anaya said Mexican ranchers who export are trying to get the U.S. to separate what happens in southern Mexico from the cattle exporting states in the north where stricter health and sanitation measures are taken, 'but the damage is already done.' 'We're running out of time,' said Ibarra Vargas, who already laments that his children are not interested in carrying on the family business. For a rancher who 'doesn't have a market or money to continue feeding his calves, it's a question of time before he says: 'you know what, this is as far as I go.'' __ Sánchez reported from Mexico City.
