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Extending state-subsidized healthcare coverage to people in the country illegally could cost California as much as $740 million annually, according to a Senate fiscal analysis released Monday. The report affixes a price tag to the proposal for the first time since Sen. Ricardo Lara (D-Bell Gardens) introduced his bill last December. Researchers at UC Berkeley and UCLA estimate that, in California, about 1.8 million people who are in the country illegally lack healthcare coverage. Around 1.5 million of them would qualify for Medi-Cal. (Mason, 5/4)

Closely watched California legislation that would extend free or low-cost health care coverage to immigrants who are in the country illegally is on hold until month's end, when it will either be moved to the full Senate for a vote or shelved. (Seipel, 5/4)