By Lia Russell
Happy Tuesday and welcome to the A.M. Alert!
REPUBLICANS WANT ANSWERS ON MEDI-CAL SHORTFALL
Via Kate Wolffe...
Republican lawmakers are calling for answers about California’s large Medi-Cal budget miscalculation.
In March, the Department of Health Care Services requested $6.2 billion to finish paying bills throughout the year. The department’s 2024 budget General Fund allocation of $35 billion was not enough. In response to the request, over $3.4 billion was granted via a loan, and the Legislature is expected to approve the additional $2.8 billion soon.
On Monday, nine Republican assembly members, led by firebrand freshman Carl DeMaio, R-San Diego, sent a letter to the Joint Legislative Audit Committee, requesting an audit into how the governor’s office got the number so wrong, and how costs could be reigned in.
The letter focused on the recently-completed expansion of Medi-Cal to all eligible people, including undocumented people. Health care for undocumented people was expected to cost $6.4 billion during this budget cycle, and ended up costing $9.5 billion, according to the state Department of Finance.
DeMaio has said he believes undocumented people should not be on Medi-Cal. His audit request received support from multiple co-signers.
“Democrats’ bad accounting has brought Medi-Cal to the breaking point, making it harder for patients to get in to see a doctor,” said caucus leader James Gallagher, R-Yuba City. “We owe it to Californians — and to the vulnerable people who depend on this program — to make sure Medi-Cal is meeting their needs.”
Rachel Linn Gish is director of communications for Health Access California, a nonprofit that helped expand Medi-Cal to more people.
“Neither in research, nor anecdotally, have we heard anybody that has not been able to get an appointment and been told it’s because, ‘you know, there’s just too many people and we just can’t deal with that,’” she said.
Gish said there are many reasons costs have increased, including increasing pharmaceutical costs, health care monopolization, and more seniors getting Medi-Cal.
She said providers who supported the expansion understood it’s better to treat people before their illnesses become chronic and they are seeking care in emergency rooms, which are required to treat them.
The chair of the Joint Legislative Audit Committee, Assemblymember John Harebidian, D-Pasadena, did not respond to questions about whether the committee would take up the audit.
ANOTHER ROUND FOR LAST CALL LEGISLATION
Assemblymember Matt Haney, D-San Francisco, is the latest lawmaker to argue that California’s “last call” law is killing the vibe (and business) as cities across the Golden State try to lure partygoers to struggling downtown areas.
Haney announced Monday at a press conference in Los Angeles that he had introduced legislation to allow local governments to create “hospitality zones” that would let bars and restaurants in those areas serve alcohol until 4 a.m. on Fridays, Saturdays and state holidays. The zones would be in areas that are walkable, have access to “enhanced public safety resources,” and are close to hotels, convention centers and restaurants.
“We know that cities across our state have struggled to come back fully after the pandemic,” Haney said Monday while standing outside the Los Angeles Convention Center. He said a state law mandating businesses stop selling alcohol at 2 a.m. made “no sense” and would further hamper business as the state prepares for an influx of guests attendingtwo Super Bowl championships, the X Games, 2026 World Cup and 2028 Olympics.
“It is time that we have a pro-local control, pro-business solution that allows California cities to do what they need to do to recover and to attract the conventions, the visitors, the events, that all of us can benefit from,” Haney said. “You can go to sleep at 10 p.m. You don’t have to be someone who goes out late, but you should be able to see the huge economic benefits that this provides for our state.”
The idea is not new. Former Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed Sen. Scott Wiener’s first effort in 2018, and in 2022 a similar bill failed to garner enough votes to pass out of committee. Wiener and San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie introduced legislation in February to lure people downtown by handing out 20 new liquor licenses to local businesses, a plan chief economist Ted Egan told Mission Local’s Joe Eskenazi he is skeptical would boost business to pre-pandemic levels.
NEWSOM PROTESTS TERMINATION OF USDA FOOD ACCESS PROGRAM
Gov. Gavin Newsom is appealing the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s sudden termination of a program that gave local food banks money to buy from local farmers and feed hungry families.
In a six-page letter to USDA Deputy Administrator Jack Tuckwiller, Newsom called the agency’s decision to cancel the Local Food Purchase Assistance program “arbitrary,” “capricious,” an “abuse of discretion” and potentially illegal. In March, Tuckwiller said it “no longer effectuates agency priorities,” a common refrain since President Donald Trump took office and began slashing or canceling initiatives targeted by his special adviser Elon Musk.
Newsom, an advocate for improving access to fresh produce, appealed to federal Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s “Make America Healthy Again” agenda in his letter. He argued that the program, which has granted the California Department of Social Services $88.5 million since 2022, with another $47 million expected this year, helped Californians access some of the “healthiest, most abundant, and most affordable (food) in the world.”
“The termination of the program is not only damaging to California’s farmers, thousands of food-insecure families and children, and economy; it also appears to be unlawful and must be reversed,” he wrote.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“The Colorado River is a lifeline for millions of people and I am committed to ensuring that we manage this precious resource for the benefit of future generations.” —Assemblymember Jeff Gonzalez, R-Indio, on being appointed to the Colorado River Forum.
Best of The Bee:
Kamala Harris believes Biden is to blame for her loss, new book says, via David Catanese
No Trump tariffs on oil. Will that mean lower gas prices in California? via David Lightman
New ‘Sacramento’ movie portrays the real city in a new light, via LeBron Hill
This story was originally published April 8, 2025 at 4:55 AM.
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