$14 Billion for Healthcare, Zero for Reparations: Gavin Newsom’s Budget Tells the Real Story

$14 Billion for Healthcare, Zero for Reparations: Gavin Newsom’s Budget Tells the Real Story: Zero for Reparations

Over the past five years, California Governor Gavin Newsom has positioned himself as a progressive leader, especially on issues of racial justice and immigration. But when it comes to the state's budget, the numbers paint a very different picture of his priorities—particularly when comparing the money spent on healthcare for undocumented immigrants to what has been delivered for Black Californians in the name of reparations.

Let’s break it down.

Zero for Reparations

The Cost of Covering Undocumented Residents

Since 2020, California has steadily expanded Medi-Cal, the state’s healthcare program for low-income residents, to include undocumented immigrants:

• 2020: Full-scope Medi-Cal extended to undocumented young adults (ages 19–25), estimated cost: $98 million

• 2021–2022: Expansion to undocumented adults 50+, estimated cost: $790 million

• 2022–2023: Ongoing cost for the 50+ group, estimated: $2.1 billion

• 2023–2024: Further expansion and increased utilization, estimated: $3.1 billion

• 2024–2025: Full rollout to all low-income undocumented adults (ages 26–49), estimated: $8.4 billion

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Total estimated cost from 2020 to 2025:👉🏽 $14.49 billion(Source: CalMatters, Politico, LAO, SF Chronicle, AP News).

Meanwhile, the state’s budget deficit for 2025–2026 is projected at $12 billion, prompting proposed cuts, including freezing new Medi-Cal enrollment and introducing premiums for undocumented enrollees.(Source: CalMatters – May Revision)

Reparations: All Talk, No Checks

In 2020, Newsom signed legislation to form a Reparations Task Force to study and recommend appropriate remedies for Black Californians. The task force submitted its final recommendations in 2023, calling for cash payments, housing grants, education debt forgiveness, and other financial programs.

Newsom’s response?A public acknowledgment of historical injustices, but no funding for reparations. No action has been taken to implement the task force’s financial proposals.(Source: NPR, ABC News)

The Contrast

• $14.49 billion for undocumented immigrant healthcare

• $0 in reparations for Black Californians

• $12 billion current budget deficit

The only “reparation” delivered so far has been an apology, which Newsom issued in 2019 for California’s historical role in slavery—a gesture not tied to any material compensation.(Source: LA Times)

The Bigger Picture

Many Black Californians are asking: How is it that the state can find billions to fund healthcare access for non-citizens but fails to prioritize a long-overdue debt to the descendants of enslaved people?

This isn’t about opposition to healthcare access. It’s about equity. It's about accountability. If the state can spend $14.49 billion without blinking, then reparations are not impossible—they’re just not a political priority.

Until there’s real financial redress, Newsom’s legacy on reparations remains symbolic—filled with committees, statements, and apologies, but no checks.