By Mariane Angela
California State Assemblyman Carl DeMaio appeared Friday on Fox Business where he called on the Trump administration to conduct an immediate audit on Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom’s Medicaid policies.
On Monday, Newsom requested additional state loans totaling $6.2 billion to cover Medi-Cal expenses while refusing to end taxpayer-funded healthcare for illegal migrants, despite a significant budget shortfall. During an appearance on “The Bottom Line,” Newsom said last week that the Medi-Cal program is bankrupt and struggles to pay hospitals, doctors, and other healthcare providers. DeMaio said the program has no money.
“It is broke. It is insolvent. They can’t pay hospitals, doctors, nurses and health care providers, which means giving free health care to illegal immigrants puts the health insurance security for the neediest among us at risk,” DeMaio said. “Children, seniors, others that cannot afford it are being threatened with their health coverage because we gave away the store to illegal immigrants. It needs to stop. Governor Newsom’s Medi-Cal system should be audited by the Trump administration immediately.”
DeMaio detailed what he said was the severe financial mismanagement and policies that not only waste taxpayer money but also jeopardize the health of California’s most vulnerable populations.
“Every way you look at this crazy policy, it’s offensive, it’s reckless, and it really endangers the health security for the neediest among us. A year ago, Gavin Newsom said, ‘Brilliant idea, let’s give illegal immigrants free health care for life,’” DeMaio said. “That’s really what this is, because once people are in the medical system, there’s not a real big incentive for them to graduate off of it because, you know, they would not be eligible anymore. He said it would only be $6 billion. We now find it’s $10 billion in counting. The $8.5 billion number is just part of the cost, $10 billion in counting.”
The policy, DeMaio said, incentivizes illegal immigration by offering free healthcare as a lure. He also criticized the state government for misleading the public about federal reimbursements for these costs, which have instead significantly burdened California’s general fund. (RELATED: Gavin Newsom Invites The Only Guest On His Podcast That Could Make Him Look Cool)
“My constituents in my district, if they want the bronze plan under Obamacare for a family of four, that’s $16,000 a year. Illegal immigrants get it free. So the first thing that’s wrong about this policy is it incentivizes illegal immigration by providing a carrot to attract illegal immigrants into this country,” DeMaio added. “Second of all, we were lied to when the governor said it would be reimbursed by the federal government. It’s not. It’s hitting the general fund.”
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DeMaio also discussed his early actions in the legislature, which he said were aimed at scrutinizing and curbing spending on what he termed “goodies” for illegal immigrants. His inquiries led to his removal from the Budget Committee, a move he suggests was retaliation for asking probing questions.
“They want to raise taxes. They want to cut services to citizens. But mind you, when I was sworn into the legislature, and I’ve only been on the job for eight weeks, I announced right out of the gate, we’re going to DOGE California,” DeMaio said. “And one of the first things we did was we went after the spending on these goodies for legal immigrants. I started asking questions at the Budget Committee, and we dragged this out of the governor’s budget director on live TV. And as a result, I was removed the next week from the Budget Committee.”
DeMaio said that the Democrats are now attempting to shift the blame to President Donald Trump.
“They don’t want us shining a light on their wasteful spending. And they’re trying to literally sweep this under the rug. The reality is now they’re blaming President Trump for medical problems. They did a press release this week saying Trump is to blame. No, California Democrats are the only politicians in this country right now that have put a Medicaid program, Medi-Cal, on the brink of financial insolvency,” DeMaio said. “They caused the problem. They need to be held accountable.”
In January 2024, California became the first state in the U.S. to allocate taxpayer funds to provide health insurance to all low-income undocumented immigrants. Prior to this policy, undocumented immigrants were restricted to receiving only emergency and pregnancy-related services through Medi-Cal, contingent upon meeting specific eligibility requirements.
California Democrats have gradually extended Medi-Cal coverage to include all low-income illegal migrants, with about 700,000 expected to qualify for full coverage by Dec. 2023. State officials now say that enrollment among illegal migrants in Medi-Cal is surpassing initial expectations.
