California taxpayers to pay $1.3 billion to enroll more illegal immigrants in Medicaid
California taxpayers will soon pay more in taxes to enroll more illegal immigrants in Medicaid, a plan that was part of a recently approved state budget. Younger illegal immigrants are already enrolled in Medicaid, SNAP and other federally funded programs.
The plan proposed by California Democrats guarantees that low-income illegal immigrants older than age 50 will receive health insurance. Coverage would take effect in 2022 and cost taxpayers $1.3 billion per year.
It follows a $213 billion taxpayer-funded plan proposed in 2019 to allow low-income illegal immigrants between the ages of 19 and 25 to enroll in Medicaid. Democrats then estimated that adding 90,000 people to Medicaid would cost taxpayers $98 million per year.
Adding illegal immigrants older than age 50 was the next step this year, they argued, which was included in the state’s two-year budget proposal. Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom is expected to sign it Thursday, the beginning of the fiscal year.
Sobriety for dollars: California lawmakers move to pay meth addicts to stay clean
California lawmakers are closer to sending Gov. Gavin Newsom legislation that would offer money for people addicted to methamphetamines to stay in treatment.
Senate Bill 110 would make contingency management, a therapy centered around positive reinforcement, a legal form of treatment in California that would be paid for by Medi-Cal, the state’s Medicaid program.
In the case of people suffering from meth addictions, they would be given incentives to attend treatment or pass drug tests.
Sen. Scott Weiner (D-San Francisco) said in June that President Joe Biden’s administration is seeking evidence-based solutions to the nation’s drug crisis.
California Asks Grid Operator for More Electricity Amid Shift to Green Energy
California state energy officials have asked the state’s top grid operator to contract for additional power capacity in the months of July and August due to concerns it won’t meet the demand during evenings.
In a letter, the heads of the California Energy Commission and California Public Utilities Commission asked the California Independent System Operator (ISO) to provide more power supplies via its tariff-based authority to obtain more resources during the two months and possibly September if conditions don’t improve.
“California is using all available tools to increase electricity reliability this summer,” the letter stated (pdf), citing “unprecedented heat events, which are occurring throughout the West in combination with drought conditions that reduce hydroelectric capacity.”
The letter, without providing evidence, stated that the drought and heat events are being caused by climate change.