1 Million RivCo Residents Await Trump Details On Healthcare Coverage

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — County boards of supervisors across California are pushing back on looming budget cuts at the federal level that could impact healthcare coverage for millions of Golden State residents.

The Riverside County Board of Supervisors is among the voices.

On Tuesday, the board unanimously passed a resolution calling on the federal government to protect Medicaid funding.

In California, Medicaid is administered through the state's Medi-Cal program. Medi-Cal pays for a variety of medical services for children and adults in California who have limited income and resources. California seniors on Medicare who cannot afford to pay their premiums are also among Medi-Cal recipients, as are many people with disabilities.

More than 1 million of Riverside County's nearly 2.4 million residents are enrolled in Medi-Cal.

That's a lot of people, and Riverside County supervisors are concerned that drastic cuts to Medicaid could reduce access to essential healthcare for the region's Medi-Cal recipients.

"We are a safety net and we are the fastest growing county in the State of California and in the nation, behind Maricopa County," said Supervisor V. Manuel Perez. "As a safety net, there are two areas that are very critical for the county, public health and public safety, and if either of them get cut, the other one hurts."

Cuts to Medi-Cal funding could also lead to hospital and clinic closures, longer wait times, and decreased access to preventive and primary care services, negatively affecting both health outcomes and economic stability in Riverside County, according to the county's resolution.

Medi-Cal also helps fund In-Home Supportive Services, which help elderly and disabled residents stay in their homes rather than move to institutional care facilities. Medi-Cal also supports programs for children who have physical and learning disabilities.

"The Board of Supervisors calls on the U.S. Congress to vote against any budget that includes cuts to Medicaid funding, including cuts to reimbursement rates, block grants, work requirements, or any other mechanisms that would reduce funding to Medi-Cal or undermine its effectiveness," the resolution reads.

The highest utilization of Medi-Cal services in Riverside County is in children ages 5-12, according to the resolution.

The California Medical Association has also urged California lawmakers to reject Medicaid reductions.

"These severe cuts are a direct threat to the well-being of 15 million Californians including children, seniors, the disabled, pregnant women, veterans and low-income working families who rely on Medicaid for essential health care," according to a Feb. 21 CMA statement.

On Friday, the White House unveiled a budget proposal of $163 billion in spending cuts aimed at health, housing, education and climate programs. The president’s new budget outline did not provide details on the future of programs such as Medicaid, Medicare, or Social Security.

The administration is expected to send those details in a fuller budget to Congress as soon as this month.

Last month, the U.S. Congress passed a revised budget resolution for fiscal year 2025. The resolution instructs the Energy and Commerce Committee, which has jurisdiction over Medicaid and Medicare, to find at least $880 billion in cuts for the period of fiscal years 2025 through 2034.

In recent years, Medi-Cal coverage has expanded to cover all California residents who meet income requirements. The most recent expansion was on January 1, 2024, when Medi-Cal opened to California residents regardless of immigration status.

Up to 1 million undocumented residents statewide may be receiving Medi-Cal, according to estimates from the UC Berkeley Labor Center. If accurate, the figure represents about 7% of all Medi-Cal recipients.

According to recent numbers from the California Department of Health Care Services, 66.29% of Medi-Cal recipients used English as their written language, while 32.44% used Spanish. The remaining 0.65% of recipients used "other languages."