key takeaway
H.R. 1’s historic cuts to Medi-Cal could cause up to 2 million Californians to lose their health care, destabilizing the state’s health care system and worsening health and economic outcomes in every legislative district.
Access to health care and food assistance are critical for every Californian to survive. But due to the Republican megabill H.R. 1, signed into law in 2025, millions of Californians are likely to lose access to these invaluable programs that help them meet their basic needs.
H.R. 1 includes the largest cuts in U.S. history to food assistance and health care programs, among other critical services. Medi-Cal — California’s Medicaid program — provides free or low-cost health care to nearly 15 million Californians. According to the Department of Health Care Services, federal cuts to Medicaid are estimated to cost “tens of billions of dollars” in lost federal funding to Medi-Cal every year and could cause up to 2 million Californians to lose their health care.
These cuts, together with additional cuts to CalFresh, threaten to destabilize California’s health care system, worsen health outcomes, increase costs, and exacerbate food insecurity in every legislative district in the state.
The tables below show how many residents in each of California’s legislative districts benefit from Medi-Cal. These cuts will have wide-reaching impacts in every community across the state that state leaders should consider as they deliberate the 2026-27 state budget and other policy priorities.
