Gov. Gavin Newsom’s revised budget proposal would limit full Medi-Cal coverage for roughly 200,000 immigrants with humanitarian status statewide beginning in July 2027, according to an analysis by California’s Legislative Analyst’s Office.
Medi-Cal is the name of California’s state and federally funded health insurance program for low-income individuals.
The proposal would shift some refugees, asylum-seekers and survivors of violence or trafficking from comprehensive Medi-Cal coverage to restricted coverage that primarily includes emergency and pregnancy-related services.
State budget analysts report Medi-Cal costs are rising and federal policy changes under last year’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act are expected to increase fiscal pressure on California’s Medicaid program.
Advocates argue the changes could disproportionately impact people recovering from trauma, violence and persecution.
“People who are refugees, people who are seeking asylum, people who are survivors of various different kinds of violence and trafficking,” said Kiran Savage-Sangwan, executive director of the California Pan-Ethnic Health Network. “They would lose their Medi-Cal, and future individuals who fall into those categories would be ineligible to enroll.”
Savage-Sangwan said she is worried about the disruption of care.
“They would be ripped away from their doctors, from their therapists, from their medication, and in many cases, they would have nowhere to turn for access to healthcare, behavioral healthcare,” Savage-Sangwan, said. “We're talking about people who potentially are suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, who may have experienced malnutrition, who may have other untreated injuries, chronic conditions.
Abuse and trauma survivors often rely on ongoing medical and mental health support while recovering, said Siboney Montoya, who runs the domestic violence program at the Community Resource Center in Encinitas.
“When health care becomes more difficult to access, survivors will then postpone treatment, which then loses that continuity with any trusted provider,” Montoya said. “So that’s an additional challenge during a time when someone is already trying to figure out their safety, housing, food, and just their overall well-being.”
State lawmakers are expected to continue negotiating the budget in the coming weeks.
