• Two recent polls show that over half of California voters support healthcare access for undocumented immigrants, including Medi-Cal and Covered California.
• California has gradually expanded Medi-Cal to undocumented residents since 2016, leading to improved health outcomes but also increased state costs.
• Proposed federal Medicaid cuts could jeopardize California's healthcare expansions for undocumented immigrants, creating a potential conflict between state and federal priorities.

Recent polls in California reveal that a majority of residents support extending healthcare benefits, including Medi-Cal, to undocumented immigrants. This support stands in contrast to stricter federal policies on immigration. California has been gradually expanding healthcare access to this population since 2016. However, looming federal Medicaid cuts pose a threat to the sustainability of these state-level programs, raising concerns among healthcare advocates and policymakers.

• What: Polls indicate majority support in California for providing healthcare to undocumented immigrants. The state has expanded Medi-Cal to this group, but federal Medicaid cuts threaten these expansions.
• Who: Californian voters, undocumented immigrants, Gov. Gavin Newsom, California Community Foundation, POLITICO-UC Berkeley Citron Center, Health Access California, California Budget & Policy Center, U.S. House of Representatives, UCLA Center for Health Policy Research.
• When: Polls were conducted in March 2024. Expansions started in 2016, with full expansion in 2024. Potential budget revisions in May. Federal Medicaid cuts proposed for the next 10 years.
• Where: California (statewide), Washington D.C. (federal policy implications).

The article highlights a clear divergence between California's progressive healthcare policies and potential federal rollbacks. The state's expansion of Medi-Cal to undocumented immigrants has improved health outcomes, especially among children, but the program's financial sustainability is threatened by proposed federal Medicaid cuts. This situation sets the stage for a political and budgetary showdown, with advocates pushing to preserve California's healthcare gains while facing external pressures to reduce spending.

There’s a disconnect between the dominant narrative and reality. Efforts to do mass deportations, to deny immigrants services, to marginalize them further, are out of step with how Californians think about these issues.

Cutting benefits for one population isn’t going to backfill these massive tax cuts. We should all be uniting against those federal cuts rather than finding a small population in our state that is getting amazing health care benefits through these expansions.

My hope is that we are able to preserve these health-for-all expansions because the need is not going to go away. It doesn’t matter if there’s a difficult budget or other things going on. It doesn’t change the fact that people need and deserve [health care].

California faces a critical juncture regarding healthcare for undocumented immigrants. Strong public support for these programs contrasts with potential federal funding cuts that could reverse recent progress. The state's budget revision and ongoing federal policy debates will determine whether California can maintain its commitment to providing healthcare access for all residents, regardless of immigration status. The situation underscores the tension between state-level progressive policies and federal austerity measures.