Gov. Newsom Announces Halt on Expansion of Illegal Immigrants in Medi-Cal

California Governor Gavin Newsom announced on Wednesday before his revised budget presentation that, because of soaring costs, he wants to halt the expansion of all illegal immigrants into Medi-Cal, California’s Medicare program, reversing a long-held position of his that he would never stop illegal immigrants from enrolling and receiving free universal health care.

While Medi-Cal was expanded to cover undocumented children in 2015 and undocumented seniors 50 and older in 2022, the program expanded to cover all illegal immigrants last year ballooned the cost of Medi-Cal for all illegal immigrants under the program to $9.5 billion. The state received more than the intended number of recipients, causing a $6.2 billion deficit to open up.

In less than a year after expanding the program, Medi-Cal costs to the state shot up by $2.7 billion, as illegal immigrants were easily accepted and many did not contribute with taxes or by other means. As a result, Newsom was forced to sign a bill last month that pays off a $2.8 billion budgetary shortfall for Medi-Cal, allowing it to run through the end of the fiscal year at the end of June.

The $2.7 billion was only a stopgap however, with the real challenge coming with the revised 2025-2026 budget. The huge deficit forced his hand, and on Wednesday, only hours before unveiling his revised budget for the year, Newsom said that he would halt any more illegal immigrants from enrolling into the program starting in 2026. Those already in the program will not be kicked out.

Illegal immigrants already enrolled will need to pay a Medi-Cal premium of $100 a month starting in 2027, a move that will likely cause many to leave the program, even though it helps align illegal immigrants more with how much low-income California citizens pay through Medi-Cal. If followed through, the state stands to save $5.4 billion by the 2028-2029 fiscal year. However, when broken down, this only brings costs down to where they were before the expansion to all illegal immigrants.

A major halt on illegal immigrants from enrolling under Medi-Cal

“We believe that people should have some skin in the game as it relates to contributions,” said Newsom’s office early on Wednesday through a memo. “The state must take difficult but necessary steps to ensure fiscal stability and preserve the long-term viability of Medi-Cal for all Californians.”

Lawmakers and immigrant groups who applauded Governor Newsom only last year for him backing the expansion criticized him on Wednesday, saying that he turned his back on undocumented migrants in the state and that low-income people will be hurt most with the pause.