Governor Signs Budget that Provides Short-Term Health Care Relief for Millions of Californians

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SACRAMENTO, CA – A coalition of immigrant rights activists and health care advocates today responded to the signing of the 2026–27 state budget by Gov. Gavin Newsom after arriving at a deal with legislative leaders last week. The final budget partially restores and delays the most harmful Medi-Cal cuts facing immigrant communities. The #Health4All coalition […] The post Governor Signs Budget that Provides Short-Term Health Care Relief for Millions of Californians appeared first on Health Access.

SACRAMENTO, CA – A coalition of immigrant rights activists and health care advocates today responded to the signing of the 2026–27 state budget by Gov. Gavin Newsom after arriving at a deal with legislative leaders last week. The final budget partially restores and delays the most harmful Medi-Cal cuts facing immigrant communities.

The #Health4All coalition expressed relief that leaders in California stepped back from the most harmful cuts that would have ripped care away from immigrant families across California. While a delay means immediate damage is diverted, it doesn’t take the attacks fully off the table. Year after year, it is a hard-fought battle to protect health care access for immigrants in California, which is why the coalition will hold steadfast to fully restoring access to comprehensive Medi-Cal for every resident of California, no matter where they were born.

“While difficult compromises were made, this budget agreement reflects the relentless advocacy done this year for affordable, accessible health care for all Californians, regardless of immigration status,” said Rachel Linn Gish, Interim Deputy Director at Health Access California. “Millions of Californians can schedule a dental check-up, or get the next 3 months of the medications they depend on to survive. But this is only the beginning and we plan to keep up the fight to restore full access to care into next year and beyond.”

“The signed budget reflects the power of immigrant communities who refused to be silent when the state cut immigrant access to Medi-Cal last year. Californians showed up, spoke out, and won real protections — preserving Medi-Cal coverage for asylees, refugees, and trafficking and domestic violence survivors for this fiscal year, pushing dental cuts and clinic payment reductions to 2027, and deferring premium increases,” said Masih Fouladi, Executive Director of the California Immigrant Policy Center. “But the fight isn’t over. The current Medi-Cal enrollment freeze still locks tens of thousands of undocumented Californians out of coverage, and delayed cuts will return unless we keep organizing. This budget proves our communities’ voices move policy. We won’t stop until every Californian can get the care they need.”

“California leaders aimed to balance this year’s budget on the backs of hard-working, vulnerable immigrants, but our communities fought back and protected the health care our lives depend upon,” said Kiran Savage-Sangwan, CPEHN Executive Director. “While we are relieved this agreement spares immigrant communities from losing access to doctors, dentists, and trusted community providers this year, we know our work is far from over. We’re determined to change a system that leaves immigrants fighting for their lives year after year while corporations sit on growing mountains of cash.”

While the final budget delays some of the most severe Medi-Cal cuts and provides short-term relief, the long-term pain for our immigrant families remains,” said Linda Nguy, Associate Director of Policy Advocacy for Western Center. “There’s much more work ahead to ensure there are revenue solutions that get us to meet our goal of fully rejecting cuts targeted at immigrants.”

The final budget includes the following updates for immigrant Californians:

Delays immediate Medi-Cal dental cuts for “unsatisfactory immigration status” (UIS) individuals by 12 months to July 1, 2027.
Delays moving asylees, human trafficking victims, domestic violence victims, etc. from full-scope to restricted-scope Medi-Cal to July 1, 2027.
Prevents a premium increase to $50 for Medi-Cal enrollees with UIS next year. The Governor had proposed increasing monthly premiums for Californians with UIS to $50 a month, beginning July 1, 2027. The next Governor will determine whether premiums increase from $30 a month in next year’s budget.
To comply with new federal directives, 2 million UIS Californians will be moved from “managed care” to “fee-for-service” Medi-Cal, with $39 million allocated to help transition patients and allow for them to continue receiving wraparound support services.
- According to the Department of Health Care Services, 79% of providers who already care for undocumented immigrants also accept fee-for-service Medi-Cal, helping many patients continue seeing the same providers.
Undocumented Californians will continue to be subject to federally mandated work requirements, which creates yet another barrier to accessing health care.

In addition, the final budget delays lowering the asset limit from Medi-Cal to July 1, 2027 and then will only bring it down to $21,000/person. This avoids the proposed $2,000/person asset limit and allows for further advocacy.

About the #Health4All Coalition

The Health4All Coalition is a statewide coalition of health, immigrant rights, labor, and community organizations working to ensure all Californians have access to affordable, comprehensive health coverage regardless of immigration status.