The California Democrat has announced that in 2026 he wants the state to stop enrolling additional illegal aliens into a state-funded health care program.
He also wants to begin charging those already enrolled a $100-monthly premium the following year.
The governor's office said that is in line with the average cost paid by those who are on subsidized health plans through California's own marketplace.
In total, Newsom's office estimated the changes will save the state $5.4 billion by 2028-2029.
Ira Mehlman is media director for the Federation for American Immigration Reform.
“It seems that Governor Newsom is acknowledging the reality that if you're going to offer generous benefits to illegal aliens you are going to attract many more illegal aliens who are going to take advantage of these benefits. California doesn't have the money to pay for everything that they promised to illegal aliens."
The reality was exposed with a close look at the numbers.
California was among the first states to extend free health benefits to all poor adults regardless of their immigration status last year, in a bid to move California toward universal health care. But the cost for such expansion ran $2.7 billion more than the administration had anticipated.
Under the plan announced by Newsom on Wednesday, low-income adults without legal status will no longer be eligible to apply for Medi-Cal, the state's Medicaid program, starting in 2026. Those who are already enrolled won't be kicked off their plans because of the enrollment freeze, and the changes won't impact children. Newsom's office wouldn’t say if the freeze was temporary or permanent.
Mehlman sees a connection between Newsom’s actions and his consideration of a White House run in 2028.
“I think he is well aware of the fact that California policies are not all that popular outside of California. It's not even certain that the policies on granting benefits to illegal aliens are popular in California. But certainly, around the country nobody's really clamoring to provide lots of expensive benefits to illegal aliens, and this is something that's obviously going to haunt him if he does decide to run. So, it's a combination of just acknowledging reality and also acknowledging the reality of the political map."
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
