California would become ‘utopia’ for illegal immigrants with free healthcare coverage: Orange County supervisor
California might become the first state in the U.S. to offer health care coverage to illegal immigrants.
Orange County Supervisor Michelle Steel told FOX Business that the healthcare bill would flood the state with a wave of undocumented workers from other states and other parts of the world.
“It’s going to be utopia for illegal immigrants,” Steel said during an interview on the “After the Bell” program on Monday.
California’s bill would afford protection to illegal immigrants who commit crimes, according to Steel.
“You’re getting welfare benefits, you have free healthcare coverage and then you can hide because government itself is protecting these people even [if] they commit crimes,” she said.
The state’s Legislative Analyst’s Office estimates California’s total cost would be $3 billion in the 2018-2019 budget year.
“When they say it’s $3 billion, you don’t know how much it’s going to cost,” Steel told FOX Business’ David Asman. “We’re talking about 1.2 million people.”
A 2016 study published by the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research found that of the $367 billion to be spent on healthcare in the state, about $260 billion will be from taxpayer dollars.
Steel said the new healthcare measure will add to the state’s $1.5 trillion in debt, attributable to the state’s two largest pension funds: California Public Employee Retirement System (CalPERS) and California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS).
“How are you going to add more money for healthcare coverage for illegals?” Steel asked. “I mean this is almost like obnoxious.”