How Medi-Cal freeze for undocumented immigrants would affect San Diego County residents

Gov. Gavin Newsom has proposed freezing enrollment in the state-funded health care plan for undocumented immigrants and imposing new premiums to the program amid a severe budget deficit.

Why it matters: Newsom's proposal — which he said could help save California about $5 billion by fiscal year 2028-29 — marks a stunning reversal from last year's first-in-the-nation move to expand free health care access for low-income residents without legal status.

Between the lines: Medi-Cal, the state health care plan for disabled people and low-income residents, would prevent new undocumented enrollees age 19 and older from accessing benefits beginning in January, beyond emergency and pregnancy care.

• Dental coverage and long-term care options would also be cut.

By the numbers: Expanding Medi-Cal for undocumented residents has cost an additional $8.5 billion annually, per a February state budget hearing.

• There are nearly 15 million Medi-Cal enrollees, including an existing 1.6 million undocumented immigrants whose coverage would remain intact. Undocumented children would also still be eligible to sign up.

Zoom in: In San Diego County's congressional districts, which cover parts of Riverside and Orange counties, 33% of the population (about 1.3 million people) depends on Medi-Cal benefits, according to the state dashboard.

• That includes many of the estimated 169,000 undocumented immigrants living in the county, who are ineligible for federal options like Medicaid.

What's next: The Legislature has until June 15 to finalize the state budget.

The backlash