- cross-posted to:
- california@lemmy.world
- cross-posted to:
- california@lemmy.world
About 700,000 adults between ages 26 and 49 will be eligible as of Jan. 1
California will welcome the new year by becoming the first state to offer health insurance for all undocumented immigrants.
Starting Jan. 1, all undocumented immigrants, regardless of age, will qualify for Medi-Cal, California’s version of the federal Medicaid program for people with low incomes.
Previously, undocumented immigrants were not qualified to receive comprehensive health insurance but were allowed to receive emergency and pregnancy-related services under Medi-Cal as long as they met eligibility requirements, including income limits and California residency in 2014.
Preventative care is ENORMOUSLY cheaper than emergency care. Hospitals have a mandate to provide life saving care to anyone regardless of insurance or documentation status. When they don’t have health insurance, they wait until it’s an emergency and either destabilize the hospital system or raise premiums for everyone.
This is another example where “it’s just cheaper to pay for it”. It’s also another position that so called conservatives are against, even though it’s far more fiscally conservative to support. Guess y’all can’t get past that crab mentality.