Undocumented Seniors are at a High Risk of Contracting Covid-19. Here’s Why ”I leave it in God’s hands,” says a 63-year old Mexican immigrant, Micaela Roldan, when asked about the measures she is taking to prevent herself from Covid-19. Roldan has chronically swollen feet, and besides that, she suffers from depression and insomnia originating from the death of her son in a car accident in 2018. Despite her condition, she has no health insurance and avoids seeking medical care even from a low-cost health clinic citing she cannot afford that from the pennies she makes from selling popsicles on the streets of Oxnard, California. oldan has worries of contracting Covid-19 due to her daily interactions with the public and lack of consistent preventive care, which puts her at a very high risk of severe complications if she contracts the virus.
Apparently, amid the Covid-19 pandemic, public health experts, together with immigrant advocates, are calling on California governor, Gavin Newsom, and state legislators to fulfill a budget proposal that would see MediCal accommodating undocumented seniors. They argue that the uninsured state of the thousands of senior residents puts them and the broader public at risk. Early this year in January, the governor has proposed allocating $80 million toward a similar move in next year’s budget, but so many uncertainties surround the plan given the state’s projection of being short of $54 billion due to the Covid-19 crisis.
Roldan is just one of the estimated 1.5 million undocumented residents in California who have no health insurance. From the figure, about 27,000 are seniors aging from 65 years and above. Unless a special case such as pregnancy or an emergency, undocumented people aging above 25 years of age do
”It’s the smart thing to do,” state Senator Los Angeles Maria Elena Durazo said. ”If there are people in our state who are our neighbors, who go to church with us, their kids go to the same schools; you go to the beach together. To think that somehow we are not going to be affected if there are 1.5 million undocumented
R
130
l
not qualify for Medi-Cal, California’s health insurance program for Californians with low incomes. The same group of people is also not allowed to purchase coverage through the state’s health insurance exchange, Covered California.
(residents) who do not have access to healthcare is ridiculous.” Sen. Elena recently authored a stalled 2018 bill to expand Medi-Cal coverage to undocumented seniors. However, some are opposing the proposal to expand Medi-Cal to undocumented seniors. The opponents have expressed concerns that the plan would be a burden to taxpayers citing that the state should focus its resources on its legal citizens. The chairman of the Ventura County Republican Party, Mike Osborn, questioned the legality of the proposal and termed it as ”a political move.”
THE POWER IS NOW MAGAZINE | JULY 2020
