Today the California State Assembly Democrats unveiled their updated 2021-2022 Budget of Opportunity, which comes on the heels of last week’s announcement from California State Senate Democrats of their Build Back Bolder budget outline. Both budget blueprints aligned on a number of key health care priorities, going above and beyond Governor Newsom’s January 2021 budget proposal, and would take major steps to close the remaining gaps in the uninsured, by eliminating barriers to needed coverage and care. Ultimately, the budget proposals by the Senate and Assembly will get our state closer than ever to our goal of universal health care coverage.
AB 4 Arambula (Health4All) – Scope Medi-Cal for Undocumented Adults
New #CABudget Provides Urgent Short-Term COVID-19 Help, But Long-Term Investments Still Needed for State’s Recovery
Last week, Governor Gavin Newsom unveiled the January proposal for the 2021-22 State Budget. The budget provides needed short-term investments to help Californians in crisis, but more ongoing and long-term support will be necessary to move California down the road towards health and economic recovery. We still urge the CA state legislature to look at […]
CA Governor 2021-22 Budget Proposal Provides Urgently Needed Short – Term Help, But Long – Term Investments Needed for Care, and California’s Recovery
Governor Gavin Newsom today unveiled the January proposal for the 2021-22 state budget, which provides much needed short-term investments to help Californians in crisis, but more ongoing and long-term support will be necessary to move California down the road towards health and economic recovery.
Twenty Takeaways from 2020
Protecting Our Progress and Confronting the Challenges of COVID-19 Like most Californians, we had high hopes for progress in 2020. The year began in earnest with the implementation of expanded access and affordability to coverage for hundreds of thousands of Californians, and ambitious plans to increase health industry oversight to control costs, improve quality and […]
As COVID-19 Crisis Continues, #Health4All Bills Introduced; Goal is to Cover All Vulnerable Californias Regardless of Immigration Status
As the first session of the 2021-2022 legislative year convened today, California legislators Assemblymember Joaquin Arambula and state Senator Maria Elena Durazo introduced legislation to expand Medi-Cal to cover those who are income-eligible but currently excluded due to their immigration status. his is the latest step for the #Health4All campaign of health and immigrant rights advocates that have in recent years successfully covered children and young adults up to age 26. AB 4 (Arambula) would remove the exclusion altogether and SB 56 (Durazo) prioritizes an expansion to seniors, 65 and over, who are most at risk in the current COVID-19 crisis.
New Census Data Shows One Million More Americans Uninsured in 2019, Even Before the Pandemic
After years of decline after the enactment of the Affordable Care Act, the new 2019 Census data released today shows an increased in the uninsured rate nationally and in California, with the rate going up to 9.2%, with one million more Americans uninsured, totalling 29.6 million. California’s uninsured rate also went up in 2019, from 7.2% to 7.7%, creeping up just past 3 million Californians, according to the new Census data.
2020-21 State Budget Deal Protects Many Key Health and Health Human Services – But Tough Cuts Made, and More Loom without Revenues
Governor Newsom and the California legislative leaders have announced a state budget deal today that pulls back many of the cuts to vital health and human services proposed in the May Revise, keeping this coverage and care intact as the state works to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. While some significant cuts were made, this budget deal […]
New CA Budget Proposes Major Cuts to Health and Other Needed Services, Even Worse Without Federal Assistance
Governor Gavin Newsom today unveiled his May Revision of the California State Budget which includes significant cuts to health, education, and other vital services in order to address the budget deficit caused by the COVID-19 crisis. In a stark contrast from the Governor’s initial proposal in January that had a surplus, Governor Newsom’s budget attempts to address […]
California Expands Emergency COVID-19 Treatment Coverage
California continues to take urgent and necessary steps to fight the public health emergency created by COVID-19. Late last week, California announced new measures to provide emergency coverage for COVID-19 testing and treatment for the uninsured and some underinsured. Under this new “presumptive eligibility” guidance by the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS), uninsured and […]