One thing was clear this budget season — our health care is more at risk than ever. But what is even more clear is that when we fight to protect our care WE WIN. Deep federal cuts under H.R. 1, what President Trump calls his “Big, Beautiful Bill,” slashed billions of dollars for Medi-Cal, putting […] The post From Drumlines 🥁 to Care-A-Vans 🚐 : How Our Voices Shaped the Budget Season appeared first on Health Access.
One thing was clear this budget season — our health care is more at risk than ever. But what is even more clear is that when we fight to protect our care WE WIN.
Deep federal cuts under H.R. 1, what President Trump calls his “Big, Beautiful Bill,” slashed billions of dollars for Medi-Cal, putting coverage in peril for millions of California immigrants, seniors, people with disabilities, LGBTQ+ community members, low-wage workers, and families across our state. In response, state leaders proposed many harmful cuts to our care that would drive more Californians off coverage sooner, and raise costs for the rest of us.
Here’s what we did together this season, and what it won.
Health equity means care for every Californian, no exceptions. Our partners at the California LGBTQ Health & Human Services Network carried the transgender, gender-diverse, and intersex (TGI) community’s priorities straight to lawmakers, asking for $26 million to protect and stabilize TGI health care in the face of H.R. 1’s cuts.
We took the fight outside the Capitol with a tug of war, a vivid picture of the stakes. Our message to lawmakers was simple: whose side are you on? The ultra-wealthy corporations making record profits at the expense of our health, or people with disabilities and low-income Californians who rely on Medi-Cal to survive?
As the Governor released his May Revision, the Health4All campaign marched to the Capitol to say what we’ve always said: no one should be denied care because of their immigration status. Everyone benefits when everyone is covered.
Our Health4All bus tour traveled across California to take our message to cover all Californians, regardless of immigration status, directly to the legislators in their district. We care, and so should you!
As leaders of the Fight For Our Health, we rallied alongside SEIU and our coalition partners to unrig California from the control of mega-corporations and demanded they pay their fair share into the health care system their workers rely on.
As the State Senate championed a proposal for corporations to pay their fair share for our health care, we beat the drum in support, urging the state Assembly and Governor Newsom to also include the plan in the final budget. When working people and communities stand together, leaders listen.
In one of the season’s final actions, the Health4All campaign delivered hundreds of messages to the Governor: a personal, pointed reminder of the Californians counting on him to protect their care before he leaves office.
You spoke up, and those in power listened.
Raising our voices led to:
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A delay in some of the worst health care cuts planned for immigrant communities, ensuring that millions of Californians can continue to see a dentist, get life-saving medications, and access preventative care that keeps them out of ERs.
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Preventing the reimposition of the harmful Medi-Cal asset test for seniors and disabled Californians that would have led to many losing coverage.
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The inclusion of a “Fair Share Contribution from Big Corporations” plan that establishes the framework for ultra-wealthy corporations benefiting from H.R. 1 to pay their fair share to keep Medi-Cal strong.
- Securing the $26 million investment to continue live-saving gender-affirming care access.
Learn more about what was included for our health care in this year’s final state budget.
While we appreciate these steps, we have to keep pushing until we can ensure that no Californian loses coverage and all can afford their care.
The more of us standing up for our care, the harder we are to ignore.
The post From Drumlines 🥁 to Care-A-Vans 🚐 : How Our Voices Shaped the Budget Season appeared first on Health Access.
