California health care advocates and progressive lawmakers are urging the governor and Legislature to find new funding for medical care and social services for low-income and disabled residents. Their coalition, "Fight for Our Health," demanded action on Wednesday to address funding cuts approved by President Trump and Republicans. This issue is expected to dominate the 2026 legislative session and midterm elections. Governor Gavin Newsom faces pressure to either increase taxes or let benefits lapse. A proposed wealth tax on billionaires is being debated, but Newsom opposes it, fearing it could drive wealthy residents out of the state.

In 2019, first-year Gov. Gavin Newsom inherited a state flush with cash. With a $21.4 billion budget surplus to play with, an ambitious Newsom…

House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi and the San Francisco Community Clinic Consortium, a partnership of nonprofit community health centers, hel…

Gov. Gavin Newsom backed off some of his proposed cuts to health care programs in a state budget deal he reached with legislative leaders late…

The California Legislature approves a proposal Friday to freeze enrollment in a state-funded health care program for immigrants without legal status. The budget proposal would help close a $12 billion deficit. The plan is a scaled-back version of a measure from Gov. Gavin Newsom. Under the lawmakers' proposal, low-income adults without legal status will no longer be eligible to apply for the state's Medicaid program starting next year. Adults between the ages of 19 and 59 who are enrolled would have to pay a $30 monthly premium starting in July 2027. The plan is not final.

If Congress moves forward with a controversial proposal to require people to report work hours to keep Medicaid, more than a million of Califo…