Governor freezes Medi-Cal enrollment for migrants to cover state budget deficit

Gov Gavin Newsom presents his revised - state budget during a news conference in Sacramento Photo by Rich Pedroncelli Associated Press California is facing a billion deficit that Gov Gavin Newsom wants to help close by freezing enrollment in the state-funded Medi-Cal activity for undocumented immigrants living in California Newsom stated the deficit and his plans to cover it Wednesday as he outlined his nearly billion state spending plan for the upcoming fiscal year Beyond higher-than-expected spending on Medi-Cal California s Medicaid activity Newsom explained the deficit is due to broad economic uncertainty including ever-changing federal tariff policies and a volatile stock area California relies heavily on revenue from a tax on capital gains Newsom a Democrat kicked off his budget presentation by highlighting California s contributions to the U S and world financial market and blaming President Donald Trump s economic policies which he announced could reduce state revenues by billion in the coming years California is under assault he declared We have a president that s been reckless in terms of assaulting those improvement engines He now opens budget negotiations with lawmakers and it s unclear how Democrats who control the Legislature will react to his plan to freeze new Medi-Cal enrollment for particular immigrants A final budget proposal must be signed by June California s budget is by far the largest among states A freeze on immigrant wellness care His decision highlights Newsom s struggle to protect his liberal approach priorities against budget challenges in his final years on the job and as he weighs his next political move which could include a presidential run Immigration has become a politically potent issue nationally Nearly half of Americans approve of President Donald Trump s tougher immigration approach according to an AP-NORC poll conducted in April Meanwhile Republicans in Congress have threatened to reduce Medicaid money for states that enroll immigrants living in the country illegally The freeze does not mean California is backing away from its help for immigrants Newsom disclosed No state has done more than the state of California no state will continue to do more than the state of California by a long shot And that s a point of pride he declared State Senate Majority Leader Brian Jones of San Diego praised the freeze but reported it should have occurred sooner to protect the state s finances I urged the governor to right now freeze his reckless Medi-Cal expansion for illegal immigrants a year and a half ago before it buried our healthcare system and bankrupted the state announced Jones Had he listened we wouldn t be in this predicament latest promises scrambling for loans and cutting services for legal Californians just to keep this broken venture afloat California was among one of the first states to extend free robustness care benefits to all poor adults regardless of their immigration status last year an ambitious plan touted by Newsom to help the nation s most of populous state inch closer to a goal of universal vitality care But the cost ran billion more than the administration had anticipated Newsom in March suggested he was not considering rolling back fitness benefits for immigrants as the state was grappling with a billion Medicaid shortfall He also repeatedly defended the expansion saying it saves the state money in the long run The plan is state-funded and does not use federal dollars Under Newsom s plan low-income adults without legal status will no longer be eligible to apply for Medi-Cal starting in Those who are already enrolled won t be kicked off their plans and the changes won t impact children Newsom didn t say how long the freeze would last Starting in adults with unsatisfactory immigration status on Medi-Cal will also have to pay a monthly premium The governor s office noted that is in line with the average cost paid by those who are on subsidized heath plans through California s own marketplace There s no premium for bulk people as of now on Medi-Cal We believe that people should have certain skin in the tournament as it relates to contributions Newsom announced Newsom s office estimated the changes will save the state billion by - The Medi-Cal expansion combined with other factors such as rising pharmacy costs and larger enrollment by older people has forced California to borrow and authorize new funding to plug the multibillion hole earlier this year California provides free vitality care to more than a third of its million people Newsom s proposals go against the commitment the state has made to the immigrant locality announced Masih Fouladi executive director of the California Immigrant Strategy Center Questions about the practicality of the plan aren t even something that we want to entertain with he stated The proposal just doesn t match with our values as a state Newsom also proposed eliminating state medical care coverage for certain weight loss drugs beginning in January which would save an estimated million for the upcoming fiscal year and million by fiscal year - Environmental spending Newsom wants to reauthorize the state s cap-and-trade activity through The activity aims to reduce emissions from industrial sources over time through market-based mechanisms and its set to expire in Money generated through auctions of credits needed to pollute goes into a fund that lawmakers tap for climate-related spending and the state s high-speed rail project Newsom proposed tapping billion from that fund for the state fire department He declared the shift would help ensure carbon emitters help fund the state s response to fires intensified by weather change His proposal would also ensure billion annually for the state s long-delayed high-speed rail project The project now receives of Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund money which ends up being a little more or a little less than a billion annually depending on the year The Associated Press contributed to this article