SACRAMENTO\u00a0\u2014\u00a0Human rights advocates on Tuesday rallied outside the state Capitol to push back on Gov. Gavin Newsom\u2019s proposed budget plan to reduce state-sponsored healthcare coverage for undocumented immigrants. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe are here to demand a budget that protects California\u2019s values,\u201d said Kiran Savage-Sangwan, executive director of California Pan-Ethnic Health Network. \u201cWe are fighting for a budget that rejects Medi-Cal cuts, seeks new revenues and strengthens our safety net reserve to keep families whole.\u201d<\/p>\n
Newsom last week unveiled his revised budget proposal, which would further move away from his previous policy<\/a> to provide free healthcare coverage to all low-income undocumented immigrants. <\/p>\n His proposal would require monthly premiums for undocumented immigrants receiving coverage from Medi-Cal, the state\u2019s version of the federal Medicaid program. It would also continue to block new adult applications, a cutback imposed last year. <\/p>\n The governor has explained that his original policy was more costly than expected and that difficult decisions must be made as the state could soon face an economic downturn.<\/p>\n Speakers at Tuesday\u2019s rally argued this was unacceptable. <\/p>\n The cuts would force many immigrants to choose between putting food on the table or visiting a doctor, said Savage-Sangwan. She said certain groups, including refugees, older adults and those with disabilities, would be left especially vulnerable. <\/p>\n \u201cThese are the kinds of actions we would expect from a federal government that scapegoats immigrants and sends violent ICE forces to terrorize our community,\u201d she said. \u201cInstead, these proposals were made by our own governor in a state that claims to value immigrant communities. We know California is better than this.\u201d<\/p>\n The governor\u2019s office did not respond to a request for comment about the rally.<\/p>\n The event drew about 100 attendees, including Anahi Araiza, a policy researcher with Imperial Valley Equity and Justice. She told The Times that many immigrants in their community struggle to afford medical care and subsequently put off doctor visits. <\/p>\n \u201cThey wait until it\u2019s an absolute emergency,\u201d she said. \u201cWe\u2019ve heard stories where people delay care and then get diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer.\u201d<\/p>\n The event was supported by several organizations, including California Pan-Ethnic Health Network, Survivors of Torture International, Communities Organized for Relational Power in Action, Health4All Coalition, and Organizing Rooted in Abolition, Liberation and Empowerment. <\/p>\n One man carried a large sign with an image of the Virgin Mary that read \u201cSafety Net For All.\u201d Other marchers donned flowing monarch butterfly wings. The orange-and-black insect became a symbol for the pro-migrant movement years ago because it travels long distances between Mexico and the United States. <\/p>\n Meanwhile, another group gathered outside the Capitol for a news conference to raise awareness about the instability caused by federal healthcare cuts. <\/p>\n Assemblymembers Patrick Ahrens (D-Sunnyvale), Robert Garcia (D-Rancho Cucamonga) and Tina S. McKinnor (D-Hawthorne) joined several doctors and nurses to call for a $500-million state investment into public hospitals. <\/p>\n \u201cPublic hospitals are the backbone of our healthcare system,\u201d Ahrens said. \u201cIt is estimated that federal cuts will strip over $3 billion a year from the California public hospital system \u2014 we cannot balance our budget on the backs of the most vulnerable Californians.\u201d<\/p>\n The Republican-backed \u201cBig Beautiful Bill\u201d signed by President Trump last year shifted federal funding away from safety-net programs and toward tax cuts and immigration enforcement. During a legislative hearing this year, healthcare professionals warned state lawmakers the cuts would harm all patients<\/a>, including those with private insurance. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SACRAMENTO\u00a0\u2014\u00a0Human rights advocates on Tuesday rallied outside the state Capitol to push back on Gov. Gavin Newsom\u2019s proposed…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":324394,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[6650,65166,65698,7,9,8,134998,1043,943,7036,134999,134996,134997,10118,135000,225,11295,1745],"class_list":["post-324393","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-california","tag-action","tag-budget-plan","tag-budget-proposal","tag-california","tag-california-headlines","tag-california-news","tag-california-pan-ethnic-health-network","tag-event","tag-governor","tag-last-year","tag-many-immigrant","tag-medi-cal-cut","tag-public-hospital","tag-rally","tag-safety-net-reserve","tag-state","tag-state-capitol","tag-undocumented-immigrant"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/324393","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=324393"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/324393\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/324394"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=324393"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=324393"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=324393"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}