On Jan. 1, California will become the first state to offer health insurance to all undocumented adults by expanding access to the state-run insurance plan, Medi-Cal.

About 700,000 adults between ages 26 and 49 will be eligible as of Jan. 1

California will welcome the new year by becoming the first state to offer health insurance for all undocumented immigrants.

Starting Jan. 1, all undocumented immigrants, regardless of age, will qualify for Medi-Cal, California’s version of the federal Medicaid program for people with low incomes.

Previously, undocumented immigrants were not qualified to receive comprehensive health insurance but were allowed to receive emergency and pregnancy-related services under Medi-Cal as long as they met eligibility requirements, including income limits and California residency in 2014.

  • BigDiction@lemmy.world
    152·
    11 months ago

    California has a huge labor shortage. It is extraordinarily expensive to live near any major population center. Agriculture is a huge industry, but many service, hospitality industries, etc. still need and require people living near big areas where the average housing price is 500k+ (this is including 1-2 commute to achieve that price excluding our high gasoline costs)

    Who the fuck can sustainably work at or near minimum wage with those costs, paying full taxes.

    This is an attempt at a labor policy that keeps all tech people happy they get can go out to dinner on Tuesday night.

    • WashedOver@lemmy.ca
      41·
      11 months ago

      In Canada we have similar issues in they want to bring in immigrants (many on student visas) by 100s of thousands which in turn sees them blamed for the housing affordability crisis when they really are brought in to help prop up not only the universities with higher enrollment fees but also to prop up employers that want workers at minimum or lower wages. It’s an added bonus that they need to rent rooms from politician landlords.

      There’s definitely an issue with the impending shortage of younger population to support the aging population which is also why they’re bringing immigrants in for, but it’s also maintaining artificially low wages that normal market conditions would not ever see filled unless wages were increased.

      In the meantime like in the US there is this low wage economic class of non citizens abused for cheap labor.

    • ArtificialLink@lemy.lol
      52·
      11 months ago

      I think you are the only one who even got close to answering my question. Without just straight up attacking one point i made and then ignoring everything else i said.

      This makes sense. And with how our gov revolves around work and corporate greed it would make even more then that California gov is trying to bolster its “low earners” economy.