A family, whose name is not really that important, got some info at Fort Miller Middle School’s Health and Wellness Fair in Fresno. They were probably just there for the free snacks, let’s be real.
Children’s health advocates, whoever they are, are freaking out about Gov. Gavin Newsom’s idea to freeze public health insurance sign-ups for undocumented adults. They’re all like, “Yo, this is gonna mess up those adults’ kids’ health care, man.”
So, California has been slowly letting more undocumented folks join Medi-Cal, the health insurance for low-income peeps. First, it was the undocumented kids in 2016, then the young adults ages 19-25 in 2019, then the oldies 50 and up in 2022, and finally the middle-aged folks 26-49 in January 2024. Before all this, undocumented peeps could only get Medi-Cal in emergencies, during baby-making, and for long-term care. California’s been paying for this expansion all by itself, no help from the feds.
But now, Newsom’s like, “Nah, we gotta chill on enrolling new undocumented adults in Medi-Cal and make the ones already in there pay a hundred bucks a month by 2027.” The Trump crew and GOP are already putting pressure on states like California to stop giving benefits to undocumented peeps, saying tax dollars shouldn’t go to them. But Newsom’s saying he’s just tryna balance the budget, ya know?
It’s not really clear why all this matters, but advocates are saying that limiting health insurance for undocumented adults is gonna mess with their kids, who are mostly U.S. citizens. About 1 in 10 kids in California have at least one parent who’s undocumented or has temporary protections from getting the boot, according to some group called the National Center for Children in Poverty.
A grandma, who’s 65 and doesn’t wanna share her last name, signed up for Medi-Cal under the expansion for undocumented folks. She’s been getting help for her stroke and taking care of her grandkids with the insurance. She’s worried about the $100 monthly payment Newsom’s putting out there. But hey, she’s been in the U.S. for over 30 years and can’t work after the stroke, so it’s a tough spot.
The president of some group called The Children’s Partnership is all about how when parents have health insurance, they’re more likely to get their kids covered too. It’s like a domino effect, you know? But when parents are sick and can’t do their thing, the kids suffer. So, it’s all connected, man.
Hopefully, Newsom and the gang find a way to balance the budget without messing with people’s health care. Maybe they can cut back on other stuff and leave this Medi-Cal thing alone. Because at the end of the day, it’s about keeping families healthy and happy, right?
