Billions over budget. No answers. Medi-Cal needs an audit. – San Bernardino Sun

Medi-Cal is broken. It’s billions over budget, and the patients who rely on it are struggling to get access to high-quality, reliable care. Just last month, Governor Gavin Newsom was forced to pour an additional $6.2 billion into Medi-Cal after it ran out of money. 

We need an audit to get to the bottom of these cost-overruns to stabilize the program for vulnerable people who depend on it and prevent painful cuts to other critical services provided by the state. 

Over the past six years, Medi-Cal spending from California’s General Fund has surged to $42.1 billion. Total spending has increased 84%, reaching a staggering $188.1 billion. 

Medi-Cal’s rising costs come when California faces another likely budget deficit in 2026. The fiscal crisis facing the program is threatening the state’s ability to provide services millions of Californians depend on, from law enforcement and fire protection to education and infrastructure.

One of the biggest cost drivers? California’s expansion of full Medi-Cal benefits to illegal immigrants. That expansion cost taxpayers nearly $10 billion this year alone – $2.8 billion more than what the governor planned for in his budget. 

When Medi-Cal blows past its budget, it’s not the Sacramento politicians who suffer. It’s everyday Californians who bear the brunt of overspending: seniors, parents, homeowners and students. 

In fact, Governor Newsom has already proposed cutting hundreds of millions of dollars from education. He is refusing to fund the drug treatment and rehabilitation programs called for in Prop. 36 and fiscal experts are already warning that the state has no leeway to fund anything outside the governor’s most recent budget proposal.

We can’t afford the ongoing cost of offering Medi-Cal to illegal immigrants. Not only are we failing to fund the programs that should come first, but we will likely have to cut more essential services as costs continue to grow. 

But the problem isn’t only about what gets cut. It’s also about whether Medi-Cal provides quality care. Right now, it does not. For years, Medi-Cal has been plagued by scandals, fraud, oversight failures and massive backlogs — and most importantly, Californians being denied care when they need it most.

The stories are heartbreaking. A son found his mother dead after she waited months to see a kidney specialist in L.A. County’s public hospital system. A young woman lived in constant pain for nearly a year, waiting for spinal surgery. A parent couldn’t secure a timely appointment as their child’s mental health deteriorated.

These aren’t isolated incidents. They’re symptoms of a program in collapse. Families are buried in red tape, denied access to specialists and left with nowhere to turn. In rural communities, it’s even worse — providers are scarce, clinics are overrun and hospitals are closing their doors because Medi-Cal reimbursement rates don’t even cover the cost of care.

That’s why we’ve called for an immediate audit of Medi-Cal. While Sacramento Democrats avoid the issue, we’re demanding answers. 

Californians need to know why Gov. Gavin Newsom didn’t see this Medi-Cal shortfall coming, what’s driving the massive cost overruns, and whether state leaders have been honest about the true cost of providing these benefits to illegal immigrants. We want answers about how that decision is affecting people already on Medi-Cal and what, if anything, is being done to keep the program from falling apart in the future. Newsom’s record on budgeting has been shoddy, and the patients who rely on Medi-Cal can’t afford another Newsom boondoggle.