By Molly Claire Goddard
12:54am PDT, May 16, 2025
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Gavin Newsom seems to be flip-flopping on government-paid healthcare for immigrants.
On Wednesday, May 14, the Governor of California's office blamed the higher-than-expected costs for his plan to stop enrolling low-income people in the state's Medi-Cal program.
Keep reading to see why Newsom seems to be going back on his word…
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Gavin Newsom's office stated their plan is to halt enrollment of lower earning immigrants in the program from 2026 and start charging payment to those already enrolled a monthly premium the following year.
"The state must take difficult but necessary steps to ensure fiscal stability and preserve the long-term viability of Medi-Cal for all Californians," a representative said in a
statement.
Newsom and his staff claimed the program would end up costing $2.7 billion more than expected.
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In March, Gavin Newsom vowed to not roll back health benefits for illegal migrants despite Donald Trump's crackdown on California's immigration policies.
Despite the left-wing politician pulling back on his promise, he clarified that the program won't completely dissolve. "It was not to kick people off and not to roll back the expansion, but to level set on what we can do and what we can't do," Newsom
said to reporters on Wednesday, May 14. "We're just capping it, particularly for those without documentation."
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Elsewhere in Gavin Newsom's proposal, adults 19 and older with "unsatisfactory immigration status" will be charged a $100 monthly premium.
According to the Democrat's office, the individuals they are charging are "people whose immigration status makes them ineligible for federally funded Medicaid, including people with lawful status and the undocumented."
Per fact sheets from Newsom's office, the reason for this action is to take "corrective action" due to the fall out of Donald Trump's "pendulum swings on tariffs."
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Despite the setback, Gavin Newsom promised that
California would still do their best to take care of their immigrant population amid Donald Trump's strict policies.
"No state has done more than the state of California, no state will continue to do more than the state of California by a long shot. And that's a point of pride," he told the press.
