CA: S.B. 1005 State Healthcare Exchange for Illegal Aliens
California’s S.B. 1005 creates a state healthcare exchange for illegal aliens who are not eligible for Obamacare and extends Medi-Cal to illegal aliens.
Summary of S.B. 1005
California S.B. 1005 creates the “California Health Exchange Program For All Californians” to provide taxpayer-subsidized healthcare coverage for illegal aliens. Specifically, the bill would require the same executive board that governs the California Health Benefit Exchange established under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as “Obamacare,” to facilitate the enrollment into qualified health plans of individuals who are not eligible for full scope Medi-Cal coverage and would have been eligible to purchase coverage through the Exchange but for their immigration status.
The bill also creates the “California Health Trust Fund For All Californians” as a continuously appropriated fund. The bill does not disclose the amount of taxpayer-funds that will be appropriated to the new trust fund.
S.B. 1005 also extends Medi-Cal eligibility to illegal aliens. Specifically, this bill would extend eligibility for full-scope Medi-Cal benefits to individuals who are otherwise eligible for those benefits but for their immigration status. S.B. 1005 provides that only state funds may be used for this purpose as federal law prohibits providing health care benefits to illegal aliens. Despite this federal law prohibition, S.B. 1005 requires the Department of Health Care Services to maximize federal financial participation in implementing the bill to the fullest extent possible under law.
Download a fact sheet on S.B. 1005 to learn more about this California bill.
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