As a result, the final state budget includes a one-time investment of $250 million for the state\u2019s 17 public hospitals and $200 million to support distressed hospitals, in addition to the $300 million Gov. Gavin Newsom initially proposed to lower Covered California insurance premiums.<\/p>\n
Ahrens, Kalra and local leaders gathered Monday at O\u2019Connor Hospital<\/a>\u00a0in San Jose to celebrate these wins and raise alarm for what is still at stake.<\/p>\n \u201cWe still remain on a collision course with millions of Californians losing their healthcare next year,\u201d Ahrens said at the news conference. \u201cUnless the federal government changes course, we are in need of long-term solutions to protect healthcare.\u201d<\/p>\n H.R.1, the federal\u00a0spending bill passed last summer, created seismic disinvestments in Medicaid, known as Medi-Cal in California \u2014 slashing funding by $1 trillion over the next decade.\u00a0Santa Clara County expects to lose $1 billion a year<\/a>, requiring leaders to reduce services and shrink programs<\/a>.<\/p>\n Nearly 130,000 county residents<\/a>\u00a0are projected to lose their Medi-Cal coverage due to these cuts by 2028, and nearly 3 million people statewide could \u00a0lose coverage, according to the Labor Center<\/a> at University of California, Berkeley.<\/p>\n Kalra said the federal government\u2019s actions will have devastating consequences for California families, including those who need cancer treatment, prenatal care, mental health treatment and more.<\/p>\n \u201cLives are certainly on the line,\u201d Kalra said at the news conference. \u201cCalifornia has shown that we are willing to lead, but we cannot stop here. We must continue looking for every possible solution to protect access to lifesaving healthcare, strengthen our public healthcare system and ensure that communities are not left to bear the burden of poor decisions made in Washington.\u201d<\/p>\n Public hospitals will play an increasingly bigger role as more people become uninsured.<\/p>\n Santa Clara County\u2019s hospital system<\/a>\u00a0is the only option for low-income and uninsured patients. The county runs four hospitals and 15 clinics. Half of the system\u2019s patients pay through Medi-Cal, and one in four of the county\u2019s nearly 2 million residents are Medi-Cal enrollees.<\/p>\n The county\u2019s hospitals handle nearly half of all emergency room visits and 80% of trauma cases, according to Dr. Brian McBeth<\/a>, a hospital executive at Valley Medical Center. Every 11 minutes, a resident is transported by ambulance to one of the county\u2019s hospitals.<\/p>\n County Executive James Williams said the investments the state has made will help residents access the care they rely on, especially trauma, burn and emergency services.<\/p>\n \u201cWe need the state to make ongoing, long-term investments that protect the critical public healthcare infrastructure Californians have invested in for decades,\u201d Williams told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight.<\/p>\n In addition, Newsom\u2019s proposal would have introduced cuts to the In-Home Supportive Services program, which provides caregivers for older adults and people with disabilities. The final state budget rejected these cuts that would have shifted more of the cost burden onto counties.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were saved from some from the catastrophic cuts this year,\u201d Michele Mashburn<\/a>, founder of All Things Disability Equity, told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight. \u201cThis is only the beginning of a battle. Each year this battle gets harder and harder to do because we\u2019re already strapped for funding.\u201d<\/p>\n County leaders took action by proposing a five-eighth cent sales tax increase<\/a> to\u00a0provide funding for its hospitals, which voters approved last November. Measure A<\/a>\u00a0is expected to bring in $330 million annually to stave off the threat of \u00a0hospital closures<\/a>, but won\u2019t save the county entirely.<\/p>\n \u201cSanta Clara County did not take this devastating news lying down,\u201d District 4 Supervisor Susan Ellenberg said at the news conference. \u201cBut Measure A was never a cure; it is a Band-Aid. The actions our leaders will take next year will determine whether this looming healthcare crisis is mitigated or endured for a generation.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"In-line](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/interactive-321838904008.png\")
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