How we told the story of Medi-Cal cuts through the people living them

California is bracing for massive healthcare cuts. Congress passed and President Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act — the largest cuts to Medicaid in history — eliminating nearly one trillion dollars in healthcare spending nationally over the next decade, largely through new work requirements experts say will remove people who still qualify. State officials estimate California could lose thirty billion dollars annually, roughly fifteen percent of Medi-Cal spending. The cuts are already reshaping care on the ground, per CalMatters — clinics in South Los Angeles serving low-income patients are losing tens of millions in federal and state funding. For patients like Maria Gomez, who has chronic seizures and was moved into housing thanks to Medi-Cal support, losing coverage could mean homelessness. L.A. County voters responded by narrowly passing a sales tax measure in June that will raise one billion dollars annually for healthcare. But experts warn the new revenue falls hundreds of millions short of what's needed, and fifty-six other counties across the state have few options to bridge the gap. The reckoning for healthcare in California is just beginning.

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