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Listen: Young Undocumented Californians Cheer Promise Of Health Benefits

Medicaid provides health care to low-income people. And California is set to be the first state to offer it to immigrants younger than 26 living there without legal permission. Starting in January, California will expand eligibility to include undocumented people ages 19 through 25. The change allows them to apply for full health coverage under Medi-Cal, the state’s version of Medicaid. It’s part of a bigger plan to eventually get everyone in the state covered. California is making the move at a time when other states and the Trump administration are trying to restrict who gets health benefits.

This story is part of a partnership that includes Capital Public Radio, NPR and Kaiser Health News, an editorially independent program of the Kaiser Family Foundation.

KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF—an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism. Learn more about KFF.

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