By Janlee Wong, MSW
Recently, the California State Senate debated Senate Bill 4 (a NASW Lobby Days bill) which would provide Medi-Cal to undocumented children and open the Covered California Healthcare Exchange to the undocumented (with no federal subsidy). Typically, Democrats voted for the bill and most Republicans against it. This time however, two Republicans from agricultural districts broke party lines and voted for the bill. The bill passed out of the Senate on a 28-11 vote and now goes to the Assembly.
During the debate, the chief argument against the bill was not that it rewarded illegal immigration but that there are an insufficient number of physicians who accept Medi-Cal and adding more to the Medi-Cal rolls would be unfair and exacerbate the problem. Senator Janet Nguyen, (R-Garden Grove), who herself at one time was on Medi-Cal, argued for delaying the bill until funding could be found to increase the number of providers, but ultimately abstained from voting.
This California Republican argument that eligibility should not be provided until the program has satisfactory access to providers is reflective of the sensitivity towards certain immigrant populations and voters. However, there’s something disingenuous about the argument especially given that current access is unsatisfactory, yet the political process will not fix the access problem. Isn’t the current situation a promise unkept?
Legislators could fix the problem now by passing a budget with an increase in Medi-Cal provider payments to attract and maintain sufficient numbers of providers. Some legislators shift the responsibility for allocating funds to increase and maintain providers to the Governor, indicating that it is his responsibility to propose a budget for this purpose. Also rumored is the possibility that the Governor will veto any bill that proposes increased expenditures including SB 4.
Both Republican and Democratic legislators could do this even with a threatened veto by overriding a veto with a two thirds vote. The Senate vote of 28 on SB 4 was more than enough to override a Governor’s veto. If legislators are worried about keeping promises, they have the power to keep those promises, especially if they work together.
