LA officials tout Medi-Cal expansion covering undocumented residents

Los Angeles-area elected officials Monday gathered to celebrate and spread the word about Medi-Cal’s recent expansion to cover low-income undocumented immigrants who are 50 years old and over.

“If there’s one thing COVID-19 has taught us, it’s the importance of having access to basic healthcare,” said Assemblyman Miguel Santiago, D-Los Angeles.

“COVID-19 hit low-income, people of color the hardest, particularly undocumented immigrants, due to their lack of access to healthcare services. Because of California’s historic investment in expanding Medi-Cal to low-income undocumented adults 50 and older, today there are hundreds of thousands of people eligible for health coverage that were previously uninsured. I am proud to have been a part of this historic fight to expand healthcare to our undocumented neighbors,” he added.

The expansion, which became effective May 1, increased Medi-Cal coverage access to about 200,000 Californians, Santiago’s office said.

The legislation was signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom last year, making California the first state in the U.S. to expand a system like Medi-Cal to low-income adults over the age of 50 regardless of their immigration status.

“No one should ever have to suffer from the stresses of not being able to see a physician when health risks are knocking at their door,” said LA City Councilman Curren Price. “Allowing our undocumented adults 50 and older to sign up for coverage gets us one step closer to universal health care for all and it’s an ideal we hope gets replicated across the country.”

Price added that the expansion would “save the lives of real people because illnesses know no race, ethnicity, income and it definitely doesn’t care whether you’re undocumented.”

Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda Solis also the praised the expansion and noted that she worked to pass a motion on the Board of Supervisors to bolster Medi-Cal’s enrollment for newly eligible residents.

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