Most Californians support Medi-Cal despite potential cuts, poll reveals
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POLL: MOST CALIFORNIANS SUPPORT MEDI-CAL
A majority of Californians across the political spectrum support Medi-Cal, the state Medicaid program, despite the U.S. House narrowly passing a budget resolution last week that would make massive cuts to the program. That’s according to a poll published Monday by the California Health Care Foundation, a philanthropic corporation that advocates for improving health care for Californians.
Seventy-five percent of overall respondents said they believed everyone in the state should have health care, even if it required more federal spending. That number increased to 91% among Democrats, while 76% of independents and 50% of Republicans said they believed the same. Overall, 67% of respondents said they strongly or somewhat opposed reducing federal spending for Medi-Cal, which covers about 14.8 million people as of October, or nearly 40% of the state population.
The survey polled 1,033 adults via web, phone and field interviews from Feb. 4 -12 and had a margin of error of plus or minus 4.2 percentage points.
Despite Elon Musk’s dubious claims that Medicare and Medicaid are rife with fraud, the programs are politically popular nationwide, and some Senate Republicans said they will not blanket accept the House resolution.
Gov. Gavin Newsom, who has avoided major skirmishes with Congress, declined to comment when asked last week about the House vote, saying his administration would respond when there was a “fundamental betrayal” to a state program or commitment.
REPORT: DOGE BEHIND PUBLICITY STUNT OVER TRUMP-NEWSOM WATER DISPUTE
A former Texas energy executive now working on behalf of the Department of Governmental Efficiency traveled to the Golden State last month to push for President Donald Trump’s demand for state officials to move water from the north to Southern California, according to Public Domain reporter Jimmy Tobias.
Tobias obtained texts of former Basin Holdings President Tyler Hassen, now a DOGE official embedded within the Department of the Interior, asking a Bureau of Reclamation official about when the Jones Pumping Plant near Tracy would resume functioning after being offline for planned repairs. The Jones plant is one of several that carry water from the Sacramento River via the federally-operated Central Valley Project, which provides water for some of the world’s wealthiest and most powerful farmers.
The unnamed BOR official told Hassen the plant would be online Jan. 28. That day, DOGE claimed credit for “more than doubling the federally-pumped water flowing toward Southern California in <72 hours,” which the California Department of Water Resources debunked in response.
Water resources have been a point of contention between Newsom and Trump, most recently during the early days of the Los Angeles wildfires. The president falsely blamed Newsom for the fires, claiming that the infernos erupted because California prioritized environmentalism over wildfire victims, which the governor’s office called “pure fiction.”
FIREFIGHTERS WHO FOUGHT WILDFIRES TO BE RECOGNIZED
Via David Lightman...
California firefighters who helped battle the blazes that devastated the Los Angeles area recently will be guests of the state’s two U.S. senators Tuesday night at the U.S. Capitol when Trump addresses a joint session of Congress.
Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., will host Capt. Frank Líma, a veteran Los Angeles City fire captain and union official. Padilla’s office said Lima was “recently on the frontlines in the fight against the devastating Los Angeles fires in January.”
Those fires killed at least 29 people and sent thousands fleeing from their homes. Congress is expected to consider a multibillion-dollar aid package of disaster relief later this year.
Líma has served the Los Angeles Fire Department over the years as a firefighter, apparatus operator, engine captain and a truck company captain.
According to a biography from Padilla’s office, Lima “worked in specialized companies, including hazardous materials and Urban Search and Rescue.” He was deployed to New York City on Sept. 11, 2001, as a rescue worker at ground zero after the terrorist attacks, and went to Louisiana to help with rescue efforts after Hurricane Katrina devastated the region in 2005.
Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., is hosting Capt. Vincent Culliver, a veteran federal firefighter for the Vandenberg Space Force Base Fire Department.
Culliver “served on the frontlines responding to the Eaton Fire,” Schiff’s office said, and is president of the International Association of Firefighters at the base.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“I think we’ve seen enough. What do you think, huh? This is going to be great television.”
—President Donald Trump, on Friday’s heated argument with Vice President JD Vance and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy
BEST OF THE BEE
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- Thousands of UC employees strike amid contract negotiation stalemate, via William Melhado
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This story was originally published March 3, 2025 at 4:55 AM with the headline "Most Californians support Medi-Cal despite potential cuts, poll reveals."
