SACRAMENTO, CA – Members of the steering committee of the Health4All Coalition, which leads in the efforts to remove barriers to health care coverage for ALL Californians based on immigration status, issued the below statements following the announcement that leaders of the California State Legislature and Gov. Gavin Newsom have reached an agreement on the […] The post Final California Budget Continues to Take California Backward on Health Equity appeared first on Health Access.
SACRAMENTO, CA – Members of the steering committee of the Health4All Coalition, which leads in the efforts to remove barriers to health care coverage for ALL Californians based on immigration status, issued the below statements following the announcement that leaders of the California State Legislature and Gov. Gavin Newsom have reached an agreement on the 2025-26 Budget Act. Budget committee hearings on the agreement begin today.
The compromise, while avoiding the deeper cuts sought by Gov. Newsom, continues to harm immigrant families, and will result in people getting kicked off of health care coverage and destabilization to our health care system.
The agreement includes cuts to Medi-Cal only for immigrants – both those who are undocumented and legally present. This move will prevent access to essential health care and create uneven systems of care, undermining years of progress toward health equity and universal coverage. According to the UC Berkeley Labor Center, over time, adding premiums and enacting an enrollment freeze for this population could result in more than 1 million fewer with Medi-Cal.
Advocates continue to push back against cuts that would block immigrant Californians from accessing full-scope Medi-Cal and to instead call on legislators to pursue sustainable revenue options to strengthen the program for all low-income Californians.
“This budget deal breaks the promises made by our state leaders. On top of the attacks and fear faced by our immigrant communities at the hands of our federal government, undocumented Californians will now face impossible choices at the hands of our state government – between paying unaffordable premiums for their coverage, or risk losing care all together. Many will just go uninsured, forcing them to the ER for basic care or dying younger from preventable illnesses,” said Diana Douglas, Director of Policy and Legislative Advocacy at Health Access California. “CA will now be a state that has two separate but unequal health care systems, baking injustice in for years to come. We will continue to fight to restore these cuts, and seek revenue solutions that will uphold our values of care, equity and access for all.”
“At a time when immigrant communities are facing relentless attacks by the federal government and Congress is threatening to slash safety net programs, we need the governor and state leaders to chart a different course and match their rhetoric in support of immigrants with meaningful action. Protecting immigrants means protecting their access to healthcare,” said Carlos Alarcon, Health & Public Benefits Policy Analyst for the California Immigrant Policy Center. “We call upon state leaders to adopt a budget that reflects our values of equity and inclusion for all, regardless of immigration status. We need revenue generating solutions, not discriminatory targeting of vulnerable communities. We will continue to fight to restore the Medi-Cal cuts included in this budget.”
“While we appreciate that cuts to healthcare for immigrant workers were softened from the May proposal, SEIU members reject a two-tier healthcare system where immigrant families, working their hearts out just to be at or near the poverty line, are singled out for caps on care and new out-of-pocket costs based solely on where they were born,” said Tia Orr, Executive Director of SEIU California. “We are proud to have pushed back on exclusion of immigrant families from home care, a vital lifeline for caregivers and clients alike. Still, we know taking away doctors’ visits and dental care doesn’t generate real budget savings; it will just push costs down the road. What’s more, these exclusions send the wrong message at a time when California’s values and people are under attack from ruthless militarized ICE forces that are destabilizing communities. SEIU members will keep fighting to protect the promise of Health4All.”
“The Governor and Legislators’ hypocritical budget harms the very people they so vociferously claim to care about protecting: farmworkers whose seasonal jobs make staying enrolled in Medi-Cal difficult, parents who will sacrifice their own health rather than take food off their kids’ table, Californians who will go to work in garment factories, food processing plants, and restaurants, supporting our economy even as they suffer from decaying and broken teeth,” said Kiran Savage-Sangwan, Executive Director of the California Pan-Ethnic Health Network. “Immigrant communities already under attack from racist and authoritarian forces in Washington, DC now face the prospect of growing sicker and dying as a result of these health care cuts. We will keep fighting to hold California leaders accountable to the promise of Health for All – and demand the state seek new revenues from corporations exploiting tax loopholes and those paying workers so little they’re forced to rely on our safety net.”
“In the face of federal threats and growing immigration enforcement across California, we needed the Governor to take a stronger stand for immigrant health,” said Mar Velez, Director of Policy for the Latino Coalition for a Healthy California. “This final budget walks back California’s equity commitments by freezing Medi-Cal expansions and weakening the safety net at a time when our communities need it most. It sets a dangerous precedent, signaling that care for immigrants is negotiable. Budgets reflect values, and this one falls short.”
“These budget cuts will have a direct and immediate impact on immigrant families,” said Linda Nguy, Associate Director of Policy at Western Center on Law & Poverty. “Already under attack by a hostile federal government, these cuts send the wrong message to our immigrant communities who will lose health care access due to lockouts and unaffordable premiums. Health care is a human right and we will continue to hold state leaders accountable and fight to protect health care access for everyone.”
The proposed budget agreement still includes the following cuts:
- Keeps the Governor’s proposed enrollment freeze for undocumented Californians, set to begin on January 1, 2026.
- Starting July 1, 2027, imposing unaffordable premiums ($30/month payment per household member) for all UIS immigrants, including those lawfully present, that will cause many immigrant families to lose their health care.
- Delays by only 6 months the cut to dental benefits for undocumented enrollees.
Both the Assembly and Senate budget committees are set to convene today, with a vote by the full body likely on Friday. The final budget will then be sent to the Governor for his signature by the end of the month. The Health4All Coalition pledged to continue fighting for the restoration of full Medi-Cal coverage for all Californians, regardless of immigration status, and to hold state leaders accountable for advancing a truly inclusive health care system.
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Rachel Linn Gish, Health Access CA, [email protected]
Ed Sifuentes, CIPC [email protected]
The post Final California Budget Continues to Take California Backward on Health Equity appeared first on Health Access.
