All undocumented immigrants in California will be eligible for health insurance as of Jan. 1

On the brink of a new year, the state of California is making the historical decision to offer an expanded version of Medi-Cal – the state’s own version of the federal Medicaid program – offering health insurance benefits to all undocumented immigrants, regardless of age.

The newest version of this program, which is an expansion of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s 2019 package which originally offered benefits to young adults ages 19 through 25 and then bumped that to include adults aged 50 and older, will aid approximately 700,000 additional low income residents on top of the 14.6 million Californians already benefitting from the program, according to reporting by ABC News, and be put into effect as of January 1, 2024. This builds off of then-Gov. Jerry Brown’s earliest version of Medi-Cal signed into effect in 2015, which was offered to undocumented children.

“In California, we believe everyone deserves access to quality, affordable health care coverage – regardless of income or immigration status,” Gov. Newsom’s office said in a statement to ABC News. “Through this expansion, we’re making sure families and communities across California are healthier, stronger, and able to get the care they need when they need it.”

As the outlet points out, “About 50% of undocumented immigrant adults in America report being uninsured, compared to just 8% of U.S.-born citizens, according to the health policy research nonprofit KFF, due to undocumented adults being more likely work jobs that don’t provide health benefits, as well as facing eligibility restrictions for federal programs.”

“This historic investment speaks to California’s commitment to health care as a human right,” California State Sen. María Elena Durazo said in a statement back in May.