On Tuesday, a coalition of health advocates hosted a press conference where Medi-Cal recipients, including seniors and disabled patients, warned that Republican budget and tax plans could lead to cuts in Medicaid and federal health programs.
Congress is working to prevent a government shutdown with a new spending bill. The House passed the bill Tuesday without proposed cuts to Medicaid (Medi-Cal in California), Medicare and Social Security.
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office shared in a report last week that Republican budget plans will likely require cuts to Medicaid or Medicare.
Kiran Savage-Sangwan, the executive director of the California Pan-Ethnic Health Network, says there is no alternative to relying on federal spending to fund Medi-Cal. Two thirds of the program’s funding comes from the federal government, according to the California Budget & Policy Center.
“The state of California pays our taxes to the federal government with the understanding that programs that Californians rely on will be supported,” said Savage-Sangwan. “Therefore, the federal funding has to continue to come to support those programs there.”
Lawrence Waterman lives in Lake Elsinore and serves as a homecare worker for his two disabled daughters. Waterman says without Medi-Cal benefits, families like his could face extreme hardship.
“A lot of other kids that are suffering, and I mean suffering from a lot of their disabilities that are far worse than my daughters,” said Waterman. “They're going to be the ones that are going to pay the price.”
Congressman Ken Calvert (R-Corona), who represents Lake Elsinore, was not available for an interview on Tuesday. In a press statement, Calvert said the Republican party’s spending plans do not include cuts to Medicaid and other key health programs. He also shared that the spending bill will allow Congress to prevent tax hikes and support defense spending.
“I believe we must take every possible step to prevent a government shutdown – which is what this bill achieves,” reads Calvert’s statement. “The bill protects Social Security, Medicare, and our critical VA programs that our veterans rely on.”
CORRECTION: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that the House passed a bill with cuts to Medicaid. The bill passed by the House on March 11, 2025, funded agency operations for Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security, but did not include cuts to actual benefits, which are funded separately through mandatory spending.
