Rep. Kevin Kiley bill would take Medicaid services away from undocumented immigrants
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KILEY INTRODUCES BILL TO KILL MEDICAID FUNDING FOR UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANTS
While California lawmakers have pushed to expand Medicaid coverage for undocumented immigrants, federal lawmakers may soon attempt to claw that coverage back.
Rep. Kevin Kiley, R-Rocklin, on Tuesday announced that he has filed a bill to prohibit states (i.e. California) from using either federal or state Medicaid funds to provide medical services to people who are undocumented, though it contains an exception for emergency medical services.
Kiley said this bill would save California taxpayers “billions of dollars each year.”
“This common sense legislation ensures that taxpayer-funded healthcare benefits are preserved for those who lawfully qualify, prioritizing the needs of American citizens and legal residents while promoting fairness and fiscal responsibility,” Kiley said in a statement.
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office declined to comment on Kiley’s legislation.
The bill faces dim prospects.
While Republicans control Congress and the White House, their majorities in both the House and Senate are thin. And any bill such as this could need 60 votes in the Senate to proceed. Republicans control 53 of the 100 seats.
AMERICANS REMAIN DISSATISFIED WITH THE WAY DEMOCRACY IS WORKING, SURVEY SAYS
A new survey from the nationwide pollster Gallup finds that only a little more than a third (34%) of Americans are satisfied with how democracy works in the U.S., while 61% remain dissatisfied.
Believe it or not, that’s actually an improvement from one year ago, when a record-low 28% were satisfied.
Americans’ satisfaction with democracy has ticked steadily downward since 2000 — remember Bush v. Gore? — when it stood at 50%. And it’s way down from the highs of the ‘80s and early ‘90s, when it hovered in the 60% range.
“Americans’ satisfaction today matches what it was in January 2021, shortly after disputes over the 2020 election outcome led to the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol and disrupted the electoral vote count that would recognize Joe Biden as the winner and incoming president,” according to Gallup’s Jeffrey M. Jones.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, given how the 2024 election turned out, Democrats’ faith in democracy have slipped slightly, dropping 3 percentage points to 35%, while Republicans’ faith in democracy nearly doubled, from 17% at the end of 2023 to 33% at the end of 2024. Independents, meanwhile rose from 27% to 34%.
“As a result of the changes by party group, Republicans, Democrats and independents now express similar levels of satisfaction with U.S. democracy, a rarity in the trend,” Jones wrote.
Gallup surveyed 1,003 adults in all 50 states by phone between Dec. 2 and Dec. 18; the survey has a margin of error of 4 percentage points.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“President Trump’s executive order, while terrible, is not shocking. It is important for our community to remember that the impacts from these orders are neither immediate nor permanent. It will take time for these orders to work through their respective federal agencies and there will be opportunities for California to weigh in on behalf of Transgender, Gender Nonconforming, and Intersex (TGI) people. When those opportunities arise we will be ready.”
- California Legislative LGBTQ Caucus, in a statement responding to President Donald Trump’s anti-transgender executive order.
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President Donald Trump signs executive order limiting the rights of transgender Americans, via Jenavieve Hatch.
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This story was originally published January 22, 2025 at 4:55 AM with the headline "Rep. Kevin Kiley bill would take Medicaid services away from undocumented immigrants."