By Anna Gorman
Thu, Jan 22 2015
PASADENA, Calif. — Angel Torres hasn’t been to the doctor since coming to the United States illegally more than two decades ago. But now, his vision is getting blurry and he frequently feels tired. Torres, 51, worries he might have diabetes like his brothers.
“Time is passing,” he said in Spanish. “I need to get checked out.”
Torres is in luck. He lives in California, which has a dramatically different approach than most other states to health care for immigrants without authorization to live here.
Several counties — including Los Angeles, where Torres lives — offer these immigrants free coverage allowing them to receive care at local clinics. In addition, as many as 500,000 low-income immigrant parents eligible for President Barack Obama’s new deportation relief likely will qualify for Medi-Cal, California’s version of Medicaid. Already, young adults who were brought here as children and have been granted similar immigration relief can receive the state-funded insurance.
And in December, legislation was proposed to extend state-subsidized health insurance to everyone, including those barred from getting covered through the Affordable Care Act. Federal dollars could not be used.
The push to offer health insurance to all Californians regardless of immigration status is the latest in a series of immigrant-friendly state policies over the past few years. Already, immigrants here illegally can obtain licenses to practice medicine, law or other professions, and as of this month, they can apply for driver’s licenses.
There is no guarantee that other states will follow California’s lead, but the size and demographic makeup of the state ensure it a prominent role in the national debate over coverage of people living in the country illegally.
“If California goes out on a limb on this, it could have an impact on other states,” said Randy Capps, director of research for the Migration Policy Institute, a nonpartisan think tank based in Washington, D.C. “It is a really big thing.”
California has been a leader on immigration issues in the past. For instance, it was one of the first states to offer in-state tuition to students living in the state illegally. Now, about 20 states do so.
source : California Takes Different Path On Insuring Immigrants Living In U.S. Illegally
