Schwarzennegger Health Plan Won’t Cover Undocumented Adults

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s health care overhaul might do little or nothing to change how medical care is delivered to an estimated 1 million adults who live in California out of status, despite the Republican governor’s characterizations that his plan is universal in scope, critics say.

When the governor released his plan last week, he drew national attention at least in part because he appeared to take on the immigration issue without reservation. “I don’t think it is a question or a debate whether they ought to be covered,” the governor said in presenting his plan.

While Schwarzenegger’s proposal would cover all children, regardless of immigration status, a close reading of the plan shows that it relies on counties to voluntarily set up a new system of care for the undocumented immigrant adults that would be separate from other state-sponsored programs.

Some critics question whether counties would have the money — or the political will — to establish such programs for undocumented immigrants and say he could be trying to sidestep a volatile political issue. Click here.

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