Undocumented Immigrants

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Alexis ManzanillaandLaurel Lucia

Expanding Covered California for All by Ending Immigration Status-Based Exclusions

Blog post exploring the factors surrounding a proposal to expand Covered California to undocumented Californians by creating a “mirror marketplace.” This would give undocumented Californians, who are prevented by federal law from participating in Covered California, the ability to shop, compare, and enroll in health plans.

Miranda Dietz,Laurel Lucia,Srikanth Kadiyala,Tynan Challenor,Annie Rak,Yupeng Chen,Menbere Haile,Dylan H. RobyandGerald F. Kominski

California’s Uninsured in 2024: Medi-Cal expands to all low-income adults, but half a million undocumented Californians lack affordable coverage options

California continues to make remarkable progress in expanding access to health coverage, including by expanding Medi-Cal eligibility for low-income undocumented residents. Yet, we project there will be 520,000 uninsured undocumented residents who earn too much for Medi-Cal and do not have employer coverage. This group remains categorically excluded from enrolling in Covered California and cannot receive federal subsidies to make coverage more affordable.

Miranda Dietz,Laurel Lucia,Srikanth Kadiyala,Tynan Challenor,Annie Rak,Dylan H. RobyandGerald F. Kominski

California’s biggest coverage expansion since the ACA: Extending Medi-Cal to all low-income adults

California has the opportunity to expand Medi-Cal to all low-income Californians, regardless of immigration status or age. This policy would result in a massive increase in coverage, bringing close to 700,000 undocumented Californians into coverage and reducing the uninsured rate for residents under 65 to just 7.1%, the biggest single improvement since implementation of the ACA.

Miranda Dietz,Laurel Lucia,Srikanth Kadiyala,Tynan Challenor,Annie Rak,Dylan H. RobyandGerald F. Kominski

Undocumented Californians Projected to Remain the Largest Group of Uninsured in the State in 2022

Even after the American Rescue Plan (ARP) substantially increases premium subsidies for health insurance coverage purchased through Covered California, large inequities remain in who has access to affordable coverage. Nearly 3.2 million Californians will remain uninsured in 2022, or about 9.5% of the population age 0-64, according to our projections. The highest uninsured rates will be among undocumented Californians (65%) and those eligible only for insurance through Covered California (28%).

Miranda Dietz,Laurel Lucia,Srikanth Kadiyala,Petra W. Rasmussen,Ken Jacobs,Dylan H. Roby,Dave Graham-Squire,Jason Zhang,Greg Watson,Xiao ChenandGerald F. Kominski

3.6 Million Californians Would Benefit if California Takes Bold Action to Expand Coverage and Improve Affordability

Many California policymakers have expressed a desire and commitment to resist federal sabotage of the ACA, control health care costs, and achieve universal health care coverage. As the state explores ways to fundamentally redesign our health care delivery system—including by adopting a single payer or other unified public financing approach—state policymakers are also considering near-term policies that do not require federal approval but address the immediate challenges of improving affordability and expanding coverage.

Laurel Lucia

Towards Universal Health Coverage: Expanding Medi-Cal to Low-Income Undocumented Adults

Expanding Medi-Cal to all adults would reduce the number of uninsured in the state by up to one-quarter, potentially newly insuring more than one million Californians. This expansion could improve access to preventive and routine care and improve financial security for those who enroll, in addition to potentially improving worker productivity for those who become newly insured.

Miranda Dietz,Laurel Lucia,Dylan H. Roby,Ken Jacobs,Petra W. Rasmussen,Xiao Chen,Dave Graham-Squire,Greg Watson,Ian Eve PerryandGerald F. Kominski

California’s Health Coverage Gains to Erode Without Further State Action

We project that between 150,000 and 450,000 more Californians will be uninsured in 2020, growing to between 490,000 and 790,000 more uninsured in 2023, compared to the projected number if the ACA penalty had been maintained.

Miranda Dietz,Dave Graham-Squire,Tara Becker,Xiao Chen,Laurel LuciaandKen Jacobs

Preliminary Regional Remaining Uninsured 2017 Data Book, California Simulation of Insurance Markets (CalSIM) version 2.0

This data book provides estimates of the remaining uninsured in California in 2017 by Covered California rating region and for large counties using a preliminary version of the California Simulation of Insurance Markets (CalSIM) model v 2.0.

Miranda Dietz,Ken JacobsandLaurel Lucia

Hundreds of Thousands of Californians could Gain Health Insurance if Supreme Court Upholds Obama’s Executive Action on Immigration

In California, the Supreme Court’s decision would not only clear the way for improved work opportunities and wages, reductions in child poverty, and greater peace of mind for families, but it also would expand access to comprehensive health insurance for many.

Miranda Dietz,Nadereh Pourat,Max W. Hadler,Laurel Lucia,Dylan H. RobyandKen Jacobs

Affordability and Eligibility Barriers Remain for California’s Uninsured

This brief examines the characteristics of the uninsured and the reasons for remaining uninsured among the undocumented who are ineligible for coverage under the ACA due to their immigration status, and the citizens and lawfully present immigrants who are eligible for coverage but did not enroll.

Laurel Lucia,Xiao Chen,Ken JacobsandNadereh Pourat

Health Insurance and Demographics of California Immigrants Eligible for Deferred Action

Chapter from Daniel J.B. Mitchell (editor), California Policy Options 2016, UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs. Discusses the health insurance status, Medi-Cal eligibility, and demographics of California immigrants eligible for the original and the expanded DACA programs and for DAPA.

Laurel Lucia,Ken Jacobs,Miranda Dietz,Dave Graham-Squire,Nadereh PouratandDylan H. Roby

After Millions of Californians Gain Health Coverage under the Affordable Care Act, who will Remain Uninsured?

The implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is predicted to expand coverage to millions of Californians by 2019. However, three to four million Californians could remain uninsured even after the law is fully implemented. We use the California Simulation of Insurance Markets (CalSIM) model, version 1.8, to estimate the size and characteristics of the remaining uninsured under age 65 in California under two scenarios.