California to protect health benefits for illegal immigrants

(KYMA, KECY/ AP News) - Under a new policy announced Monday by California Governor Gavin Newsom’s administration, about 40,000 low-income adults living in the country illegally won’t lose their government-funded health insurance over the next year.

California already pays for the health care expenses of low-income adults 25 and younger, regardless of their immigration status.

A new law scheduled to take effect in January 2024 would extend those benefits to cover all adults who would qualify for the state’s medicaid program.

But between now and when that new law takes effect in 2024, about 40,000 young adults who already have medicaid in California are expected to lose their benefits because they are older than 25.

And now, the State Department of Health Care Services announced it would continue to cover those young adults through the end of 2023 to make sure they won’t lose their benefits.