State May Get $250 Million in New Aid for Immigrants

State and federal officials said Friday that the Clinton Administration budget contains another $400 million in health care grants and that California would get more than half that money to help care for its burgeoning immigrant and refugee population.

The new program, tucked into the Health and Human Services Department, would provide discretionary Medicaid grants to states whose health facilities “serve disproportionately high numbers of undocumented aliens.” California could receive $250 million from the new program, said Barry Toiv, a spokesman for the Office of Management and Budget.

The additional funds would raise federal assistance for California’s immigrant costs to nearly $900 million, short of the $1.45 billion Gov. Pete Wilson had been seeking but matching the level that Clinton Administration officials had projected several weeks ago.

“The concept sounds good,” said H.D. Palmer, assistant director of the state Finance Department, “but we’d like to see more details about the program and a firm commitment to funding.”

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), who had pushed for the immigration and refugee funds but at the “more realistic” $900-million level, said the “bipartisan plea for more federal aid was heard by the Administration. Taken together, these programs will have a tremendous impact.”

The new program was inserted in the Health Care Financing Administration budget at the behest of the White House, said Lee Mosedale, a Health and Human Services spokesman. “We learned about it only in the last couple of weeks.”

The funds would require no state matching funds and would be based on the “number of aliens that impact a particular state,” Mosedale said. “We want to make sure the formula doesn’t dilute the program too much,” he said. “The idea is to put the money where it is needed most--on the West Coast.”

The California congressional delegation, state legislators and Wilson have been lobbying hard for more money to cover the cost of federally required services for immigrants and refugees.

The Clinton budget also includes $520 million in immigration funds and $126 million in refugee funds.