No Medicaid for Illegal Immigrants- California’s Taxpayers Should Not Foot the Bill for Illegal Immigrant Healthcare
The expansion of Medi-Cal, California’s Medicaid program, to cover all low-income undocumented immigrants—irrespective of age or legal status—has saddled taxpayers with a massive, unjustifiable cost. As Representative Kevin Kiley (R-CA) has highlighted with his “No Medicaid for Illegal Immigrants Act,” this policy is a fiscal disaster that California cannot afford, especially given the state’s looming budget deficit. Taxpayers should not be forced to pay for healthcare for illegal immigrants when our own citizens are struggling to access the services they’ve funded.
California’s budget deficit is a glaring red flag. As of March 13, 2025, estimates peg the shortfall at $38 billion according to Governor Gavin Newsom. This crisis stems from dwindling tax revenues, a flight of high-income earners, and reckless spending. Yet, amidst this financial chaos, the state is pouring $9.5 billion this year into Medi-Cal for undocumented immigrants—a figure confirmed by the California Department of Finance, dwarfing earlier projections of $6 billion. Over the next decade, this could escalate to hundreds of billions, draining resources from vital services like education, infrastructure, and healthcare for legal residents.
The strain doesn’t stop at Medi-Cal. Illegal immigrants in California tap into a web of taxpayer-funded social services: emergency medical care (partially state-funded despite federal mandates), public education for their children (costing billions annually), and even cash assistance through programs like CalWORKs for families with U.S.-born children. The Federation for American Immigration Reform estimated in 2023 that illegal immigration costs California taxpayers nearly $31 billion yearly across these services. Meanwhile, citizens face overstretched emergency rooms, underfunded schools, and neglected roads—services they’re entitled to but can’t fully utilize because funds are diverted to non-citizens.
Healthcare access exemplifies this inequity. With Medi-Cal now covering an estimated 700,000 to 1 million undocumented immigrants as of 2024, the system—already serving 14.6 million Californians—is buckling. Provider shortages and low reimbursement rates mean legal residents, including seniors and the disabled, endure months-long waits for appointments or travel far for care. Assembly Minority Leader James Gallagher has called it out: “The state is shelling out $9.5 billion on healthcare for illegal immigrants while emergency rooms overflow, hospitals teeter on the brink, and working Californians struggle to see a doctor.” Taxpayers are bankrolling a system that prioritizes illegal immigrants over their own families.
Representative Kevin Kiley’s “No Medicaid for Illegal Immigrants Act,” introduced in January 2025, offers a solution. This legislation would prohibit states from using federal or state Medicaid funds to provide healthcare services to undocumented immigrants, with an exception for emergencies. Kiley argues it could save California billions annually—up to $6.5 billion by some estimates—freeing up funds to bolster care for citizens. “This common-sense legislation ensures that taxpayer-funded healthcare benefits are preserved for those who lawfully qualify, prioritizing the needs of American citizens and legal residents while promoting fairness and fiscal responsibility,” Kiley stated. His bill aligns with a growing sentiment that public resources should serve those who’ve contributed to them, not those who’ve bypassed the law.
The fiscal irresponsibility is stark. To cover Medi-Cal costs through March, the state borrowed $3.4 billion, with more loans likely by June. Newsom has floated tapping the $7.1 billion rainy-day fund—meant for emergencies—to sustain this spending. Kiley’s legislation could halt this madness, as he emphasized in a March 13, 2025, post on X: “Newsom has squandered so much of our Medi-Cal funding on illegal immigrants that he’s now asking for a $3.4 billion loan to cover the costs. My legislation…will put an end to this scandal.” Assemblyman Carl DeMaio agrees, noting that cutting this program could avert such borrowing entirely.
California’s taxpayers are fleeing—over 700,000 left between 2020 and 2022, taking $47 billion in adjusted gross income with them—yet those who stay are hit harder. A 2024 California Health Care Foundation report found over half of Californians skipped care last year due to cost, with many accruing medical debt. These are the people funding Medi-Cal’s expansion, yet they’re sidelined. Kiley warned on X in February 2025, “Over 10 years, [Medi-Cal for illegal immigrants] will add up to hundreds of billions that could have improved care for vulnerable California citizens.”
Proponents of the expansion call it compassionate, but it’s a hollow gesture when it bankrupts the state and incentivizes illegal immigration. The Biden administration’s lax border policies fueled a surge—millions have crossed since 2021, many landing in California—costing federal and state taxpayers $16.2 billion in emergency Medicaid since then, per the Congressional Budget Office. Kiley’s bill counters this pull factor, redirecting resources to wildfire prevention, schools, or healthcare for veterans—needs he’s flagged as more pressing.
California taxpayers deserve relief, not a bigger burden. Kiley’s legislation is a lifeline, ensuring Medi-Cal serves those who’ve earned it through citizenship or legal residency. The state’s $9.5 billion annual splurge on illegal immigrant healthcare is indefensible when citizens can’t get timely care and the budget teeters on collapse. It’s not cruelty to prioritize Americans—it’s justice. Sacramento must stop this giveaway and let Kiley’s bill restore sanity. Taxpayers shouldn’t foot the bill for those who cut the line.
