Senator Durazo and Assemblymember Arambula Introduce Medi-Cal Access Restoration Act to Reverse Enrollment Freeze for Undocumented Californians

SACRAMENTO, CA - State Senator Maria Elena Durazo and Assemblymember Joaquin Arambula today jointly introduced Senate Bill 1422, the Medi-Cal Access Restoration Act, to end the enrollment freeze on Medi-Cal for undocumented Californians ages 19 and older and restore full-scope coverage beginning January 1, 2027.

The 2025-26 State Budget froze Medi-Cal enrollment for undocumented adults, leaving otherwise-eligible Californians without access to routine and preventive care. The freeze does not eliminate health needs - it shifts costs to counties, hospitals, and emergency rooms.

“Undocumented Californians pick our crops, build our homes, and care for our families - and they pay billions in taxes to do it,” said Senator Durazo. “Denying them basic health coverage isn't saving money, it's borrowing trouble. We pay more when people end up in the emergency room. SB 1422 is the fiscally responsible thing to do, and it's the right thing to do."

“Now more than ever, we must ensure that undocumented Californians have access to health care coverage. They are the backbone of our State, from working tirelessly to put food on our tables to taking care of our children to performing jobs that help grow and strengthen our economy. They also pay their fair share of taxes,” said Assemblymember Arambula. “To refuse them access to health care coverage is shortsighted and denies them the dignity and respect that they deserve. As an emergency room doctor, I know it only increases demands on our health care system and triggers higher costs. If we are a California for ALL, we cannot leave anyone behind.”

Undocumented Californians contribute $8.5 billion annually in state and local taxes and make up roughly one-tenth of the state's workforce - yet the freeze bars many of them from the safety-net programs their tax dollars support. Research shows that access to preventive care significantly reduces avoidable emergency room visits, which can cost more than ten times as much as routine care. California already spends an estimated $3.5 billion annually on preventable emergency care.

The freeze also compounds pressure on a health system already strained by federal cuts under H.R. 1, which is projected to result in up to $83 billion in uncompensated hospital costs over the next decade.

“California reached one of its lowest uninsured rates ever, approximately 6%, thanks to California’s Medi-Cal expansion for immigrants. Now that progress is at risk. Freezing Medi-Cal enrollment for undocumented Californians hurts all Californians,” said Dr. Seciah Aquino, Executive Director of the Latino Coalition for a Healthy California. “When people lose access to preventive care, they don’t stop getting sick; they end up in emergency rooms, destabilizing local health systems and shifting billions in avoidable costs onto counties. California must stand by the promise it made to immigrant families and reopen Medi-Cal access so that no one is excluded from care. We are proud to co-sponsor SB 1422 to protect access to care and uphold our state’s commitment to health equity.”

“Freezing undocumented adults out of Medi-Cal was not only wrong, it was a huge setback in the progress we’ve made toward achieving universal health care in our state. It will leave millions of people without access to care at a time when the Trump administration is cutting programs that help people to give tax breaks to billionaires,” said Masih Fouladi, executive director of the California Immigrant Policy Center. “Now is the time to support immigrant families and ensure they remain healthy and strong. This is a time for action and we thank Sen. Durazo for taking this bold step. SB 1422 will go a long way in restoring California as a trailblazing state, ensuring that all Californians, regardless of where they were born, have access to care they desperately need.”

“For over a decade, California worked to build a health care system that includes all Californians. Last year we went back on that promise, creating an inequitable, two-tier health care system where your access to care now depends on where you were born,” said Amanda McAllister-Wallner, Health Access Executive Director. “This important bill will restore equity by ending the harmful and unfair enrollment freeze for undocumented Californians. A health care system that is inclusive of all Californians ensures that our communities stay healthy.” 

SB 1422 is co-sponsored by the Latino Coalition for a Healthy California, the California Immigrant Policy Center, and Health Access California.

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Senator María Elena Durazo represents the 26th Senate District, which includes a diverse array of Los Angeles neighborhoods, including Boyle Heights, El Sereno, Highland Park, Eagle Rock, Glassell Park, Mt. Washington, Cypress Park, Lincoln Heights, Atwater Village, Elysian Valley, Arlington Heights, Echo Park, Silver Lake, Los Feliz, East Hollywood, Little Armenia, Thai Town, Larchmont, Koreatown, Pico-Union, Westlake-MacArthur Park, Historic Filipinotown, Chinatown, Little Tokyo, the Arts District, Civic Center, City Terrace, East Los Angeles, and the City of Vernon.