Medi-Cal

The California Legislature has rejected many of the spending cuts Gov. Gavin Newsom is seeking to close a $12 billion budget deficit, relying on internal borrowing to put off difficult decisions.

Legislators, cutting $3.5 billion in overall funding, endorsed a freeze on state health care for undocumented immigrants but want lower premiums and other changes In Newsom's proposal. Democrats are divided.

Many undocumented immigrants have long feared that their Medi-Cal data would be used against them. Newsom calls it "an abuse."

Gov. Gavin Newsom proposed major cuts to Medi-Cal and other social programs to close a $12 billion deficit. Democrats in the state Legislature are pushing back, proposing more borrowing.

Gov. Gavin Newsom estimated there's a nearly $20 billion hole in the budget, but if lawmakers restore his Medi-Cal cuts the hole could grow $10 billion larger.

A proposal in Congress would require some adults to document 80 hours a month of work or school. Experts say the red tape and paperwork is so cumbersome that even people who work will lose their health insurance.

Health advocates say the proposal to reinstate the Medi-Cal asset limit would keep people in poverty while Gov. Newsom says it's essential to cut rising costs.

Tax credits for the parents of young children. A state-funded scientific research institute. Exempting service workers’ tips from state income tax. Those are among the hundreds of proposals California lawmakers swiftly rejected Friday under the banner of cost savings, as they cited the state’s $12 billion budget deficit — a worsening figure due to the […]

Wrong revenue projections a few years ago led California to overspend, creating structural deficits. Now underestimated Medi-Cal costs are blowing holes in the latest proposed budget.

Newsom's Medi-Cal budget plan would shift money for voter-approved increases in doctors' pay and reproductive care to cover other expenses. The cost of the low-income health insurance program has been growing rapidly.