{"id":348849,"date":"2026-06-06T01:02:10","date_gmt":"2026-06-06T01:02:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/348849\/"},"modified":"2026-06-06T01:02:10","modified_gmt":"2026-06-06T01:02:10","slug":"santa-clara-county-leaders-demand-state-funds-for-healthcare","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/348849\/","title":{"rendered":"Santa Clara County leaders demand state funds for healthcare"},"content":{"rendered":"

Santa Clara County leaders and advocates are calling on state lawmakers to protect the healthcare system from devastating federal cuts as it finalizes its budget for the upcoming fiscal year.<\/p>\n

Latinas Contra Cancer, All Things Disability Equity, Fund Healthcare Not Billionaires, Regional Nurses Professional Association and others held a Friday rally at Valley Medical Center in San Jose, where dozens of fake tombstones dotted the lawn. Scrawled phrases such as \u201cDied homeless\u201d and \u201cNo prenatal care\u201d called attention to the expected fallout if the Legislature doesn\u2019t move to fund public hospitals and services in light of looming federal spending cuts.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese are incredibly challenging times,\u201d Celeste Walker, district director for Assemblymember Ash Kalra, whose district encompasses San Jose, said at the rally. \u201cGovernments at every level, including the county, state and cities, are being forced to make difficult budget decisions. But we must be clear, we cannot balance our budgets on the back of the most vulnerable people in our communities, including our undocumented neighbors.\u201d<\/p>\n

California officials are set to finalize the state\u2019s finances for fiscal year 2026-27 by June 15. Gov. Gavin Newsom\u2019s proposed budget provides no funding to help public hospitals stave off the billions of dollars lost from Medi-Cal<\/a> due to H.R. 1, President Donald Trump\u2019s spending bill passed last year.<\/p>\n

\"\"Michele Mashburn, founder of All Things Disability Equity, said cuts to the In-Home Supportive Services program will disrupt her life. Photo by Joyce Chu.<\/p>\n

Newsom\u2019s proposed budget tacks on an additional $231 million<\/a> in losses to public hospitals this upcoming fiscal year \u2014 increasing to $322 million the following year. The State Assembly\u2019s proposal<\/a>, however, includes one-time funding of $250 million for public hospitals.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is half of our initial ask, but it is the very best offer on the table,\u201d District 4 Supervisor Susan Ellenberg said at the rally. \u201c(State officials) do not look into the eyes of residents every day who have been told their coverage has ended and they can\u2019t get asthma inhalers for their children or support for their diabetes \u2014 we do that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ellenberg said the county is doing all that it can to mitigate the federal spending cuts, including successfully campaigning for a voter-approved<\/a>, five-eighths cent sales tax increase last year known as Measure A. It\u2019s expected to bring $330 million in extra revenue per year until it expires in 2031 \u2014 but it won\u2019t be enough to make up for the $787 million shortfall in the upcoming budget cycle<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In addition, Newsom\u2019s proposal would introduce cuts to the In-Home Supportive Services program, which provides caregivers for older adults and people with disabilities. The proposal shifts more of the cost burden onto counties and could limit the amount of service hours.<\/p>\n

Michele Mashburn<\/a>, founder of All Things Disability Equity, said these cuts would disrupt her life.<\/p>\n

\u201cThose supportive services make sure I can go to the store, it makes sure that I can get my groceries, it makes sure that I can get my medications, that I can go to my doctor\u2019s appointments, but it also makes sure that I can get dressed and that my stress level stays at a manageable level,\u201d Mashburn told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight. \u201cBut if I lose different supports, my life becomes filled with the time it takes to manage everything else.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"In-line<\/a><\/p>\n

Organizers called on Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas to negotiate a budget that protects healthcare services for the most vulnerable.<\/p>\n

Vanessa Gonzalez, field representative for Rivas, said they appreciate the county\u2019s advocacy. The Assembly\u2019s proposed budget aims to cushion some of the effects of the federal cuts, she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cCalifornia cannot backfill every cut, but (our plan) will delay and soften many of the proposed healthcare cuts as we continue to find revenue solutions again,\u201d Gonzalez said at the rally.<\/p>\n

Contact Joyce Chu at [email\u00a0protected]<\/a> or @joyce_speaks on X.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Santa Clara County leaders and advocates are calling on state lawmakers to protect the healthcare system from devastating…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":348850,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[712,88,90,89],"class_list":["post-348849","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-jose","tag-centerpiece","tag-san-jose","tag-san-jose-headlines","tag-san-jose-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/348849","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=348849"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/348849\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/348850"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=348849"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=348849"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=348849"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}