California first to cover health care for all immigrants

(KYMA, KECY/ AP News) - California on Thursday became the first state to guarantee free health care for all low-income immigrants living in the country illegally.

It's a move that will provide coverage for an additional 764,000 people at an eventual cost of about $2.7 billion a year.

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a $307.9 billion operating budget that pledges to make all low-income adults eligible for the state’s Medicaid program by 2024 regardless of their immigration status.

It’s a long-sought victory for health care and immigration activists, who have been asking for the change for more than a decade.

The federal government won’t pay for people who are living in the country illegally, but some states like California have used their own tax dollars to cover a portion of health care expenses.