You know how Democrats love to trot out stories of the poor, put-upon "migrants" who have been targeted and disenfranchised by President Donald Trump's actions? Yet they fail to exhibit an iota of thought for the taxpaying citizens who are being robbed of essential services because of this glut of illegals taking away these services and programs. We know well that Governor Gavin Newsom of California is the poster child for this. He gives no thought to his citizens, favoring pedophiles, transgender boys competing against girls in sports, and the rights of illegal aliens over the rights of We the People at every turn.
California's Medi-Cal program has been Newsom's personal piggy bank to help illegal immigrants, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Up until two weeks ago, Newsom was still pushing to give illegals free healthcare, despite the cost to taxpayers. When he realized that this wasn't going to help his deficit woes, Newsom decided he needed to make cuts to Medi-Cal in order to stop the bleeding.
Stand-Up Comedy: Newsom Claims He's Doing 'DOGE but Better' As California Suffers Massive Deficits
One of his bright ideas encoded in his budget proposal? Bring back a decades-old limit on individual assets for people on Medi-Cal. That limit has not been fully imposed since 1989, and you know what the cap is? Two thousand dollars. In 2025, this is the price of one month's rent for a studio apartment in Los Angeles.
You cannot make this stuff up.
But as opposed to some no-name illegal, elderly and disabled California citizens will be adversely affected. They face a loss of services as well as a loss of independence. CalMatters reported exclusively.
Al Sanderson, one of Selfon’s clients, says that’s exactly what would happen to him. The Redondo Beach resident broke his neck three years ago in a surfing accident that left him paralyzed.
Sanderson said his monthly rent costs more than the asset limit. He has significant savings as a former high school physical education teacher and baseball coach that he uses to pay for utilities, transportation and things that his kids need now that he no longer works.
If he got kicked off of Medi-Cal and lost his caretakers, Sanderson said he would lose his independence.
“How am I going to pay people to come help me? How am I supposed to survive and live? I’d have to go to a nursing home,” Sanderson said.
That may well be part of Newsom's short-sighted plan. Hospitals and care centers love their federal dollars, and stuffing them full of new residents is one way to guarantee the flow continues. Even lifelong Medi-Cal recipients are under threat by this Newsom proposal.
Cynde Soto, a quadriplegic who requires around-the-clock care, has been on Medi-Cal for most of her life. Recently, she came into a modest inheritance, about $8,000, that has helped cover her daily expenses. But it also means that she would lose her state health insurance under a proposal from Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Newsom has proposed restoring a $2,000 limit on an individual’s assets — including savings accounts and property other than a home and a car — and $3,000 for couples to qualify for Medi-Cal. Anyone 65 and older or disabled who exceeds that limit would be ineligible. Newsom also is proposing a cap on how much home care Medi-Cal enrollees like Soto could receive.
In unveiling the proposal, Newsom said that California has a “spending problem” and needs to make “difficult choices” to address the state’s $12 billion deficit, which he attributed in part to growing Medi-Cal costs. His proposal would save the state $94 million this budget year and more than $500 million the next year, according to the governor’s budget document.
No, Gavin, California doesn't have a spending problem: You and your Democrat Supermajority do. They all need to get out of their Sacramento bubble and actually speak with California constituents who are affected by these changes. These brain trusts are big on "listening sessions" when it involves changes they want to squash or delay, as in the case of Assemblywoman Maggy Krell and her AB 379 legislation to make selling a minor for sex a felony. Yet they are quick to make sweeping changes when it suits their craven interests.
Newsom is right on brand.
Some lawmakers and disability advocates have argued against the asset limit for years. They say it forces people into poverty and hasn’t kept up with rising inflation and cost of living.
Newsom agreed to raise the limit to $130,000 per person in 2022. Then in 2024, the limit was erased completely. Now Newsom wants to bring back the original limit of $2,000, an amount that was set in 1989.
This is the problem with de facto declarations and pulling policy out of your hindquarters, rather than doing the hard work to craft policies with actual citizens and real circumstances in mind. Newsom is flossing for the cameras and trying to save political face, as per usual.
Our Managing Editor, Jennifer Van Laar, reported on how Newsom "discovered" that opening the floodgates of Medi-Cal to cover illegal aliens was the main factor in his budget woes.
Last year, despite loud warnings about the cost from (most) California Republicans and anyone else with a brain, Newsom and his band of virtue-signaling Democrats made Medi-Cal available to illegal aliens in the state - and now Medi-Cal is bankrupt and Newsom's asking the legislature for $6.2 billion just to keep it solvent through the end of the fiscal year.
Surprisingly, he admits that paying for healthcare coverage for illegal aliens is "partially" contributing to Medi-Cal's funding shortfall.
Gov. Newsom told reporters today CA’s healthcare coverage for undocumented people is “partially” contributing its Medi-Cal funding problems.
— Ashley Zavala (@ZavalaA) March 19, 2025
He told me he thinks his latest $2.8B loan request to help cover costs is the last for the year. pic.twitter.com/0A8SaVnj2x
Yet, instead of fully addressing this problem, Newsom would rather borrow more money and bring back a standard that is over 20 years old, without any thought to the current cost of living, inflation, or how people actually use their assets to survive in the second-most-expensive state in the country. Most importantly, they are blinded to how this affects the people for whom Medi-Cal should have been preserved in the first place.
So, since the Democrats love to trot out their poor, put-upon illegals, and travel to other countries to see if they are doing all right while drinking margaritas, Republicans need to start trotting out these elderly and disabled citizens like Soto and Sanderson, and flood the zone with their video interviews about how Newsom's bringing back this draconian asset limit would literally kill them.
Richard Dallatorre, an elder Californian who became disabled due to complications from COVID-19, said it best:
“I worked 40 years of my life never receiving help, always paying taxes. I was glad to do it because I thought maybe when I need it, somebody will be able to help me,” Dallatorre said. “I didn’t know how stupid the system is.”
Editor’s Note: Thanks to President Trump, illegal immigration into our great country has virtually stopped. Despite the radical left's lies, new legislation wasn't needed to secure our border, just a new president.
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