Illegal aliens in Democrat-led California no longer will be able to sign up for the state's Medicaid program once the new year arrives.

After years of promoting taxpayer-funded health coverage regardless of immigration status, California is now putting the brakes on new enrollments for many adults who lack what officials call "satisfactory" or permanent legal status.

That's a major reversal driven by ballooning costs and a widening budget hole, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Nonprofit workers have been fanning out across South Los Angeles with iPads and clipboards, racing to enroll illegal aliens in Medi-Cal before the deadline, according to the Journal.

Under the new rules, Medi-Cal will stop accepting new adult applicants with "unsatisfactory" immigration status starting Jan. 1, 2026.

Those already enrolled will face a new $30 monthly premium beginning in mid-2027, signaling that Sacramento is no longer willing to treat the expansion as a blank check.

The shift marks a striking policy U-turn for Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom, who previously championed universal, government-supported health care for low-income Californians "regardless of their immigration status" as part of the state's moral identity.

But as enrollment surged, the price tag exploded, and taxpayers are now being asked to absorb the consequences.

California's expansion outraged conservatives who warned the state was prioritizing illegal aliens over citizens and lawful residents struggling to afford health care.

"We warned him," Republican state Senate leader Brian W. Jones said after Newsom announced the coming enrollment freeze, according to the Journal.

Jones argued the policy gave priority to immigrants "over our own citizens who are already struggling to afford their own healthcare."

The California Department of Finance projected Medi-Cal coverage for adults with "unsatisfactory immigration status" at $12.5 billion for the current fiscal year, with overall Medi-Cal spending projected to reach $197 billion — nearly double what it was before Newsom began expanding eligibility between 2020 and 2024, the Journal reported.

The state's nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office has warned general-fund expenses are outpacing revenue and estimated the new rules could push roughly one million immigrants off Medi-Cal rolls through mid-2030, saving the state $10.6 billion.

California's crackdown is also colliding with new federal rules.

CalMatters reported back in May that Newsom, widely considered a likely 2028 presidential candidate, proposed the enrollment freeze and new premiums as part of a plan expected to save the state billions.

Under the proposal, Medi-Cal would no longer accept new enrollees ages 19 and older enrollees without permanent legal status, while those already enrolled would keep coverage and children could still enroll.

The outlet reported Democrats in the Legislature initially balked, while Republicans argued the move proved the expansion was never sustainable.

Supporters of the rollback warn that cutting coverage will push more people into emergency rooms, the most expensive form of care.

But conservatives counter that California's experiment created perverse incentives, encouraged dependency, and strained resources for the taxpayers who fund the system.