By David Gorn, CaliforniaHealthline
Undocumented immigrants get better health care in California than the rest of the country -- but that's not saying much, according to a new report released Thursday by UCLA researchers.
"California is in the lead of a very sorry pack," said Steven Wallace, associate director of the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research and co-author of the report. "For California to stay in the lead, we need to keep innovating."
It's unclear how UCLA's findings will affect SB 4 by Sen. Ricardo Lara (D-Bell Gardens), the bill to provide full-scope medical coverage to the undocumented, which cleared the Senate Committee on Health this week and now heads to Senate Appropriations.
"You could spin this either way," Wallace said -- that California is leading the nation so it doesn't need to do more; or that coverage in all states, including California, is inadequate. "We weren't interested in influencing policy," Wallace said, "we wanted to know how the states are doing across the nation."