California Begs For Emergency Loan After Showering Illegal Immigrants With Healthcare Benefits

California will borrow $3.44 billion this month to keep its Medicaid program afloat as costs for the state’s healthcare expansion, which includes coverage for illegal immigrants, continue to surge.

The emergency loan, requested by Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration in a Wednesday letter to lawmakers, is the maximum amount the state can borrow and will only cover Medi-Cal costs through the end of March, according to Politico. Republicans, including Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones, have seized on the cost overruns.

“Typical of the secretive Newsom Administration, they just quietly dropped a damning notification that they are taking a $3.44 BILLION loan to fund free healthcare for illegal immigrants,” Jones wrote on X. “The loan is being taken from tax dollars for healthcare providers. This program is out of control.”

Medi-Cal’s financial troubles have been exacerbated by the state’s decision to extend coverage to illegal immigrants, with costs spiraling far beyond initial estimates. When California first expanded Medi-Cal eligibility, officials projected it would cost roughly $3 billion per year. That figure has now ballooned to $8.4 billion for 2024-25 in the governor’s budget proposal — nearly triple the original estimate — placing further strain on the state’s budget.

Defenders of the expansion, including Newsom and Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas, argue that cutting