Some low-income seniors and people with disabilities are being forced to draw down their savings to retain their healthcare coverage under a new Medi-Cal asset limit, writes CalMatters’ Kristen Hwang.
The new limit kicks certain groups off of Medi-Cal if they have more than $21,000 in savings as of July 2027. State lawmakers lowered the cap to help close a $12 billion budget shortfall in a compromise with Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Just two years ago Newsom set a policy that effectively eliminated the asset limit, allowing Medi-Cal recipients to hold on to savings. But when faced with a multibillion-dollar state spending gap, he proposed reinstating a cap at $2,000. The Legislature balked but agreed to lower the limit to $130,000 and then ratchet it down to $21,000 starting next summer.
About 600 people lost Medi-Cal when California imposed the $130,000 limit, according to state data. Senior and disability rights advocates say the cuts unfairly target vulnerable groups. They expect many more to lose Medi-Cal at the $21,000 limit. If the state returned to the initial $2,000 limit, an estimated 62,000 people would have lost Medi-Cal.
Elizabette Guéçamburu, a 44-year-old who has spinal muscular atrophy, requires a power wheelchair and daily caregiving.
To remain eligible, she’ll likely have to give up financial independence and put some money into a trust controlled by a family member. She also had her family strike her from inheriting any portion of their 100-year-old farm.
- Guéçamburu: “I have to surrender our legacy just to have medical security and have the ability to live my life.”
We’re bringing our voter guide to life through VotingMatters events across California, in collaboration with on-the-ground partners. We’re holding three events today: In Marysville at Yuba College, Bakersfield at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church and Woodland at Woodland Community College.
Other Stories You Should Know
Seen and heard at CA state worker strike
Thousands of California government workers represented by SEIU Local 1000 walked off the job Wednesday to press Newsom for a better contract than he’s offered, and some of them came dressed to send a message.
In Sacramento, prison analyst Don Chaddock wore a Santa costume and held a sign reading “Newsom + CalHR = Naughty List.” Chaddock said he is frustrated by the state’s in-office policy, which has him commuting to a suburb south of Sacramento.
- Chaddock: “I don’t mind in-person if we’re actually doing something in-person. Right now, I drive to Elk Grove to sit in a cubicle.”
Here’s what CalMatters’ Kate Wolffe and I learned when we talked with striking workers in Sacramento and Oakland.
More cities want to stop data centers
Local elected officials in California are pumping the brakes on data centers, reports CalMatters’ Katherine Ortiz.
As public concern over their environmental impact and energy usage grows, at least 26 resolutions, moratoriums or bans on data center development across the state have been passed or proposed in the last four months.
Los Angeles County’s Monterey Park became the first U.S. city to permanently ban data centers in June. Fast forward to October and Oakland’s city council approved a 45-day moratorium on new approvals; San Francisco approved a similar moratorium; leaders in L.A. and Santa Clara counties are considering limitations, too.
- Nicole Ghio, Food & Water Watch’s California director: “This is not a future that I think a lot of people want. I mean, it’s a great future if you’re a tech billionaire. It’s not a great future if you’re a regular American.”
Proponents, meanwhile, argue that developing data centers is a critical national interest.
California Voices
CalMatters columnist Dan Walters: Because it is so unprecedented, even if it passes, Proposition 40’s billionaire tax faces an array of potential legal hurdles and logistical challenges.
Other things worth your time:
FEMA tells states to handle disasters on their own // Politico (free)
Getting a duplicate mail ballot is not unheard of. But in this tense election season, the outcry is outsized // Los Angeles Times (paywall)
Tempered support for commuting death sentences in Legislature // The Sacramento Bee (gift link)
The shadow contest between CA’s three big 2028 hopefuls is well underway // San Francisco Chronicle (gift link)
AI is changing how students learn to write — and think // The San Francisco Standard (paywall)
Californians are warding off wildfires by trading lush lawns for stone and steel // The Wall Street Journal (gift link)
She braved sharks and storms to swim the length of CA // The New York Times (gift link)
