Policymakers, advocates and worried Californians join forces to save Medi-Cal
by Antonio Ray Harvey, California Black Media
The U.S. Congress is debating cuts to Medicaid and other social programs after voting for a $2 trillion reduction in federal spending.
Those conversations are causing alarm among some Californians – particularly the elderly, disabled and people enrolled in Medi-Cal, California’s version of Medicaid.
What could those cuts mean for their health care and day-to-day life?
Diana Madoshi, a community activist from Placer County, is one of many people in the state who are voicing their concerns about the pending cuts and how they would affect Medi-Cal.
“Today, I am frightened — as are many seniors, persons on disability, and social security recipients — by the threats of the Trump administration and his henchman Elon Musk to defund and dismantle Social Security and Medicaid-slash-Medical,” Madoshi said at a rally and news conference held in front of the State Capitol on March 4.
The event was organized by Assemblymember Pilar Schiavo (D-Santa Clarita) and Jasmeet Bains (D-Bakersfield) to discuss protecting Social Security, Medicare and Medi-Cal.
“As long as I have a breath in me, I’m going to stand up and fight,” Madoshi, a member of the California Alliance for Retired Americans, promised.
A number of senior adults, people with disabilities and Social Security beneficiaries also attended the event.
Madoshi, 74, who is from Rocklin, said she started working at 17. She supported herself through college and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in nursing. Her 36-year nursing career enabled her to start an Individual Retirement Account (IRA) that helped purchase her home.
However, Madoshi added, she was affected by a medical condition and was unable to work. Treating the illness was expensive and the cost drained her IRA account, but she still had a “social safety net” that sustained her livelihood.
“My savings were eradicated by my illness,” she said. “So, all I had left from my retirement was my social security benefits. The Social Security safety net caught me. It underscores the program’s fundamental humanity.”
The Trump administration and the Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) have referred to Social Security as a “Ponzi scheme,” an investment fraud plan that pays existing investors with funds collected from new clients.
The Social Security Administration (SSA) reports that 71.6 million people received Medicare in 2023, and 5.8 million people were newly awarded Social Security benefits in 2023. The SSA says that 55% of the recipients are women.
The SSA is the country’s primary income security agency. It services the federal retirement, survivors and disability insurance programs. It also manages the program of supplemental security income (SSI) for seniors, blind and disabled.
On Feb. 25, SSA announced the closing of a component within the agency, the Office of Transformation. Employees in the office were put on administrative leave.
“President Trump has mandated the federal government eliminate wasteful and inefficient offices and the Office of Transformation was a prime example,” stated Lee Dudek, Acting Commissioner of Social Security. “This redundant office was created under the previous administration, and we are righting that wrong.”
On March 11, the Trump administration issued a press release titled “Fact Check: Trump Will Always Protect Social Security.” The White House statement said the administration “will not cut Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid benefits.” Instead, it added, Trump and Musk are focused on “waste and fraud in entitlement spending.”
The U.S. Government Accountability Office reports that taxpayers lose as much as $521 billion annually to fraud — and most of that is within entitlement programs, such as Medicare and Medicaid, the press release stated.
“What kind of a person doesn’t support eliminating waste, fraud and abuse in government spending that ultimately costs taxpayers more?,” the White House statement continues.
According to the Department of Home Care Services (HCS), Medi-Cal pays for a variety of medical services for children and adults with limited income and resources. It is funded by both federal and state dollars.
Schiavo urged the federal government to wall up funding for Social Security, Medicare and Medi-Cal and called on her colleagues to support legislation she authored, Assembly Joint Resolution 3 (AJR 3).
The measure urges California’s representatives in Congress to vote against cuts to — and proposals to privatize — Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. AJR3 also asks Trump to veto any legislation to cut or privatize these programs.
Schiavo said there could be up to $880 billion or more in Medicaid cuts, and they may affect trauma centers and urgent care facilities in urban and rural areas.
“These cuts are not an option in our communities,” Schiavo said.
Schiavo attended the news conference in Sacramento joined by Bains, advocates, patients, family members, service providers and other supporters from across the state.
At the conference, Schiavo mentioned that she lost her father the day before. He was a veteran, she said, who relied on Social Security benefits.
“We are here to fight in honor of my dad and every other veteran who is going to be hurt by Congress and the federal administration,” she said. “We know that if cuts are made to these vital programs that millions of people in our state depend on that our taxpayers and tax dollars go to pay for, it will be devastating to communities across California.”
California Black Media, serving California’s Black press, boasts a record of ensuring that the Black viewpoint remains central to all the debates that shape life in California. Antonio Ray Harvey and other members of the CBM staff can be reached at info@cablackmedia.org.
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