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California Legislator Wants To Extend Insurance To 1 Million People Excluded Under Obamacare

California Proposal Would Give Health Insurance To 1 Million Undocumented Immigrants
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National Reporter, HuffPost

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State Sen. Ricardo Lara, D-Bell Gardens, left. talks with Sen. Kevin de Leon, D-Los Angeles, during the Senate session at the Capitol in Sacramento, Calif., Wednesday, May 29, 2013. By a 27-9 vote the Senate approved Lara's bill that would use California's tax policy in an attempt to pressure the Boys Scouts of America into fully accepting gay members. The bill SB323 gets rid of a tax exemption for sales and use taxes, as well as corporate taxes, for youth groups that discriminate. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)

California is considering whether to extend Obamacare to one of the country's largest uncovered groups.

State Sen. Ricardo Lara, a Democrat, is proposing legislation that would offer inexpensive health insurance to undocumented immigrants through a state version of the Affordable Care Act, the local press report.

“Immigration status shouldn't bar individuals from health coverage, especially since their taxes contribute to the growth of our economy,” Lara said last week in a press release, according to Fox News Latino.

Some 2.6 million undocumented immigrants live in California, though perhaps only 1 million will lack access to insurance after the implementation of Obamacare due to their immigration status, according to the Los Angeles Times. Many undocumented immigrants obtain insurance through their employers.

Congress excluded undocumented immigrants from coverage under the Affordable Care Act. But withholding affordable insurance from the undocumented will not keep them from seeking care, as an article published by The Atlantic last month points out. Instead, hospitals will likely pick up the tab for visits from undocumented immigrants seeking emergency care.

The exclusion applied to beneficiaries of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program created by the Obama administration in 2012, which shields most undocumented immigrants brought to the country as minors from deportation for a renewable, two-year period. Beneficiaries of DACA may legally work and pay taxes.

The California legislature, which is controlled by Democrats in both houses, has become one of the most friendly toward undocumented immigrants in the country. The state legislature voted last year to allow undocumented immigrants to obtain driver's licenses, and passed the TRUST Act -- legislation limiting the state’s cooperation with federal requests to hold potentially immigrants found to be undocumented.

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Before You Go

Latinos And Health Insurance
Uninsured -- countrywide (01 of10)
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Nearly 33 percent of Hispanics under the age of 65 had no health coverage in 2010.Hispanics had the highest numbers of uninsured compared to blacks (22 percent), whites (14 percent) and others (19 percent) who lacked health insurance. (credit:Alamy)
States With Highest Numbers Of Uninsured Latinos (02 of10)
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Georgia: 45 percent of non elderly Hispanics are uninsured in the state of Georgia. Only 22 percent of the state's total population under age 65 is in the same situation. North Carolina: 49 percent of non elderly Hispanics are uninsured in the state of North Carolina. About 20 percent of North Carolina's population under age 65 is uninsured. Kentucky: 51 percent of non elderly Hispanics are uninsured in the state of Kentucky. The same is true for only 18 percent of the rest of the state's residents under age 65.South Carolina: 57 percent of non elderly Hispanics are uninsured in the state of South Carolina. Just 22 percent of the total non elderly population in South Carolina is uninsured. Source (credit:Alamy)
States With Lowest Numbers Of Uninsured Latinos (03 of10)
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Massachusetts: 9 percent of non elderly Hispanics are uninsured in the state of Massachusetts. 6 percent of the total non elderly population in Massachusetts is uninsured. Michigan: 16 percent of non elderly Hispanics are uninsured in the state of Michigan. About 15 percent of the total non elderly population in Michigan is also uninsured. Wisconsin: 20 percent of Latinos under age 65 are uninsured in the state of Wisconsin. About 11 percent of the total non elderly population in Wisconsin is uninsured. Pennsylvania: 22 percent of non elderly Hispanics are uninsured in Pennsylvania. Only 13 percent of the state's total non elderly population faces the same problem. Source (credit:Alamy)
Population Growth(04 of10)
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The U.S. Hispanic population surged 43%, rising to 50.5 million in 2010 from 35.3 million in 2000. Latinos constitute 16% of the nation's total population.The Pew Hispanic Center projects that nearly one in five Americans (19%) will be foreign born in 2050. And Latinos will represent 29 percent of the nation's population in 2050, accounting for almost one third of the entire country. Immigration will be the main factor for population growth. Of the 117 million people expected to join the U.S. population between 2005 to 2050, 67 million will be immigrants.Many of these immigrants are not eligible for government-sponsored or subsidized health care under The Affordable Care Act. (credit:Alamy)
Immigrants And Medicaid (05 of10)
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Medicaid provides essential coverage to vulnerable populations who might otherwise be uninsured. Latinos are about two times more likely than Whites to have coverage through Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Plan (CHIP). But immigrants are less likely to have access to employer-sponsored health insurance.Legal immigrants can enroll in Medicaid, CHIP only after they have been in the country for five years, while undocumented immigrants are barred from government insurance programs altogether, according to The Daily Beast. (credit:Alamy)
Who Are Most Likely To Be Uninsured? (06 of10)
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Uninsured adults are more common than children without health insurance, but Latino kids are more than two times more likely than White children to be uninsured.Nearly 50 percent of Latino children are enrolled in Medicaid (CHIP ). However, Latino children represent the largest portion of (39.1 percent) American children who are eligible for but not enrolled in these programs. (credit:Alamy)
Leading Causes Of Death In The Latino Community In The U.S. :(07 of10)
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1.Heart disease2.Cancer3.Unintentional injuries4.Stroke 5.Diabetes6.Chronic liver disease and cirrhosis7.Chronic lower respiratory disease8.Homicide9.Certain conditions originating in the perinatal period, the months just before and after birth.10.Influenza and pneumoniaSource (credit:Alamy)
Diabetes And Health Care Coverage (08 of10)
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The Affordable Care Act allows for easier and more affordable treatment for chronic diseases.Insurance companies can no longer deny coverage to children under 19 due to a pre-existing condition and people who can not find affordable private coverage but earn too much for the now expanded Medicaid program or government insurance subsidies will be eligible for government-run high risk insurance pools.As diabetes disproportionately affects Hispanics in the United States, the ability to secure affordable coverage with a pre-existing condition is important. According to a CDC investigation Hispanics have double the risk of developing diabetes compared with non-Hispanic whites and they tend to develop diabetes at a younger age.Latino children and youth under 20 years of age diagnosed with diabetes is growing at an alarming rate -- the fastest of any ethnic group in the U.S. (credit:Alamy)
Costs (09 of10)
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In 2008, Hispanics made up nearly 16 percent of U.S. residents but but accounted for less than 10 percent of the nation's total health care costs. (credit:Alamy)
Health Care -- Political Implications(10 of10)
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U.S. Hispanics prioritize immigration, healthcare, and unemployment to equal degrees, according to a June Gallup Poll . However, a slight majority of Hispanic registered voters (21 percent) identified healthcare as the most important issue when it comes to casting their vote. (credit:Alamy)
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