California lawmaker proposes ending funding for illegal immigrant healthcare | 4 Jan 2024 | After national outrage over California providing billions of dollars in taxpayer-funded healthcare to illegal immigrants, one state legislator introduced a bill to "revoke all taxpayer funding for health care for illegal immigrants in the California State Budget." According to State Assembly member Bill Essayli (R–Woodcrest), the California provision of taxpayer-financed healthcare to illegal immigrants will cost $4 billion as the state faces a $68 billion budget deficit for the 2024-2025 fiscal year. "It is unconscionable to spend billions of taxpayer dollars to give universal healthcare to illegal immigrants when our own citizens cannot afford their own healthcare on top of historic inflation and the highest cost of living in the nation," said Essayli in a public statement announcing AB 1783, noting that health insurance premiums paid by Californians increased by 9.6% in the last year. California not only faces a record budget deficit, but also a major doctor and healthcare staffing shortages.