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Proposed California budget cuts Medi-Cal, CalFresh benefits for undocumented people as state copes with federal pressure, rising costs

Undocumented immigrants in California will bear the brunt of reductions in health care and nutrition programs under Gov. Gavin Newsom’s initial proposal for a 2026-27 state budget unveiled earlier this month. Joe Stephenshaw, director of the California Department of Finance, said in a Jan. 9 press conference that the state’s Health and Human Services Agency is bracing for about $1.1 billion in impacts on Medi-Cal, the state’s version of the federal Medicaid insurance program…