{"id":66873,"date":"2025-07-02T16:32:08","date_gmt":"2025-07-02T23:32:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eltecolote.org\/content\/?p=66873"},"modified":"2025-07-02T17:02:05","modified_gmt":"2025-07-03T00:02:05","slug":"california-immigrant-health-cuts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eltecolote.org\/content\/en\/california-immigrant-health-cuts\/","title":{"rendered":"As Trump’s spending bill looms, California immigrants fear more healthcare rollbacks"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Over the past three years, G.H., 51, says she\u2019s spent more time inside San Francisco\u2019s General Hospital than she has at home. In 2022, the Salvadoran woman barely survived an episode of domestic violence when she was pushed off a two-story building in Daly City. The fall, she said, shattered her ankle and permanently damaged her back and hips. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When she arrived at the hospital, G.H., who requested to be identified by the initials of her middle and last name, said her doctors enrolled her in Medi-Cal, California\u2019s health insurance program for low-income residents. Since then, the state-funded coverage has paid for multiple surgeries, physical therapy and treatments like acupuncture to manage her injuries and chronic pain, along with counseling for the emotional trauma she still carries. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

G.H.’s doctors have told her she won\u2019t fully recover, so they\u2019re focused on improving her mobility and quality of life. But now, G.H. worries many of these ongoing treatments might soon be out of reach. On July 2, the U.S. Senate approved a controversial spending bill that would cut many federal healthcare benefits <\/a>for immigrants with and without legal status. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The bill, now headed to the House for a final vote, would require some states, including California, to shoulder a greater share of emergency care costs for immigrants. It would also limit more immigrants\u2019 eligibility for Medicaid (known as Medi-Cal in California) \u2014 leaving refugees, parolees and domestic violence survivors uninsured unless states decide to fund their coverage through expansion programs, like California does for undocumented residents.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt would be terrible for all of us,\u201d said G.H., who is undocumented but in the process of applying for a U Visa. Unable to work because of her injuries and currently supported by her children, she worries the coming changes might impact her ability to afford the medical care she needs. California, facing its own budget crisis, has already scaled back parts of its Medi-Cal expansion program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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G.H., 51, who requested to conceal her identity, stands in a hallway in Daly City, on June 12, 2025. Photo: Pablo Unzueta for El Tecolote\/CatchLight Local<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere are many people who have worked all their lives here,\u201d she added. \u201cNow they need medical care and they\u2019re taking it away from them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Budget fixes that could cost immigrants their care<\/strong>

Many immigrants without permanent legal status are currently ineligible for federal healthcare benefits like Medicaid outside of emergency procedures. But over the past decade, some Democratic-led states have used their own funds to expand low- and no-cost care to cover all low-income and disabled residents, regardless of status. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

California started its Medi-Cal expansion in 2016 with coverage for children under 18, eventually including immigrant adults aged 25-49 in 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The state, however, underestimated how many immigrants would sign up. More than 1.6 million are currently enrolled, according to state data, costing California over $2 billion more <\/a>than projected, and prompting lawmakers to backtrack on their universal health care promise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n