Generated

California faces significant healthcare coverage losses as the administration's tax reform law and state budget cuts impact Medi-Cal

California is facing a significant reduction in healthcare coverage as state and federal budget cuts begin to impact the Medi-Cal program. Research from the UC Berkeley Labor Center and UCLA Center for Health Policy Research projects that the uninsured rate in the California could nearly double by 2030, with an estimated 2.2 million people potentially losing insurance over the next four years. These losses are driven by the administration's One Big Beautiful Bill tax reform law, which rewrote Medi-Cal rules and reduced federal funding. The administration's law also caused enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies to expire, leading to a 140,000-person drop in Covered California enrollment. Additionally, the state has implemented work requirements and a wealth test to contain costs. While Democrats blame the administration for the significant losses, Republican lawmakers argue that the state's structural spending problems are to blame. Senator Roger Niello noted that federal restrictions currently account for only $3 billion of the $351 billion state budget.

Sources