CA/Healthcare—
By Suzanne Potter, producer, California News Service, a bureau of Public News Service.
A California fund created to expand access to abortion and other reproductive healthcare may have to shut down unless state lawmakers restore funding in the budget.
Legislative leaders are in final budget negotiations ahead of a June 15 deadline to pass a balanced budget. Gov. Gavin Newsom omitted funding for the program in the May revision of his budget proposal. The state created the uncompensated care grants after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade in 2022. The money helps clinics provide reproductive care to low-income patients.
Jessica Ramey Stender, policy director and deputy legal director for the nonprofit Equal Rights Advocates, said the initial $40 million allocation is about to run out.
“Supporters are advocating to invest $30 million over three years, but at a minimum, at least $10 million in this 2026-27 state budget to be able to sustain the program,” Stender explained.
For the past few years, state grant money has helped stabilize budgets at rural healthcare providers, independent clinic networks and Planned Parenthood clinics. About 200,000 patients have benefited so far. Roughly 10% are women who traveled to California from states where abortion is banned.
Stender pointed out abortion access is a health issue with major economic consequences.
“Women who are denied abortion are four times more likely to fall below the poverty line,” she noted. “States with abortion bans lose an estimated $105 billion annually in economic impact.”
Many healthcare facilities also are bracing for major cuts in Medicaid passed last summer by Republicans in Congress. The changes to Medicaid, known as Medi-Cal in California, mostly go into effect in January.
