Ira Mehlman said. In October Gov. Jerry Brown signed legislation that extended Medi-Cal to illegal immigrant children as of 2016, which is estimated to apply to approximately 170,000 children. Some lawmakers in the state see the move as only a first step however. State Sen. Ricardo Lara advocates expanding health insurance to all illegal immigrants in the state. An early version of State Sen. Ricardo Lara bill failed after being priced at more than $ 1 billion, the LA Times reported. We have made tremendous progress in California this year to address these health disparities by expanding access to health care coverage for all children, but as this report indicates there is so much work still to be done.