AP
By Judy Lin
June 2, 2015
The
California Senate on Tuesday approved legislation that would make the
state the first in the nation to extend health coverage to children who
are in the country illegally
and seek federal authorization to sell private insurance to immigrants
without documentation.
Senators
approved a bill that would allow between 195,000 and 240,000 children
under 19 from low-income families to qualify for state-funded Medi-Cal,
regardless of their
legal status. It also would seek a federal waiver for California to
sell unsubsidized private health insurance through the state's health
exchange, known as Covered California.
If
passed and signed by Gov. Jerry Brown, limited enrollment for
low-income immigrant adults 19 and older into Medi-Cal would be allowed
depending on how much funding
lawmakers approve in next year's budget.
SB4 advanced to the Assembly on a bipartisan vote, 28-11.
Sen.
Ricardo Lara, a Democrat from Bell Gardens, hailed his bill as a
historic move to expand access to health care on behalf of millions of
immigrant workers who toil
in the fields, clean hotel rooms and provide child care.
"Ensuring
that every child in California grows up healthy with an opportunity to
thrive and succeed is simply the right thing to do," Lara said in
presenting his bill.
"It is what we are about in California."
Some
Republicans warned that it won't help immigrants access doctors because
of the shortage of providers who accept Medi-Cal, California's version
of Medicaid. GOP Sen.
Janet Nguyen from Garden Grove abstained from the vote, saying that the
proposal amounted to an empty promise.
"Make sure that we don't promise someone a car if there's no engine in it," Nguyen said.
California
Democrats, immigration groups and health care advocates have been
galvanized by President Barack Obama's executive order to spare some
immigrants from deportation
due in response to a lack of comprehensive immigration reform.
The
president's action excludes immigrants who came to the country
illegally from qualifying for federal health benefits. But California
has its own policy of providing
health coverage with state money to low-income immigrants under
Medi-Cal.
A
legislative analysis before additional amendments were made had
estimated the cost to expand Medi-Cal to immigrant children regardless
of their legal status would depend
on the outcome of a legal challenge to Obama's executive order.
It
would cost up to $135 million a year without the president's executive
action and up to $83 million a year with the president's action based on
protection for 900,000
of the state's 2.5 million immigrants without documentation.
Lara's office said Tuesday that an updated cost estimate was not immediately available.
Brown,
a Democrat, has been reluctant to increase spending in his fourth and
final term and has not said whether he would sign the bill. Supporters
initially proposed
expanding health coverage to all immigrants regardless of their legal
status but narrowed the scope of their proposal in recent weeks, hoping
to entice the governor's support.
For more information, go to: www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com
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