Next Governor To Face Thorny Choices After California’s Rapid Medicaid Expansion By Christine Mai-Duc Oct. 16, 2026

https://kffhealthnews.org/elections/medicaid-cuts-medi-cal-insurance-immigrants-hilton-becerra-california-governor/?utm_campaign=KHN%3A%20First%20Edition&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--zNmyrTJJfcP9AP9WTm8WnwYNCwr0rRr-ZZGKRCggiUmlszl156FzF6xdc11AxgfrSc0yg2jH5dNxzXABhbSvgNiK1pw&_hsmi=444605831&utm_content=444605831&utm_source=hs_email KFF Health News: Next Governor To Face Thorny Choices After California’s Rapid Medicaid Expansion In March 2025, when California ran out of Medicaid funds to pay doctors and hospitals, the state borrowed $3.4 billion to keep the program afloat. It was, as a spokesperson for Gov. Gavin Newsom insisted, nothing new. Indeed, a handful of times over the years, the state had taken out internal, short-term loans to sustain its healthcare program for the poor and disabled. The unprecedented move came a few months later, when Newsom and Democratic state lawmakers agreed to pay down the loan — which grew to $4.4 billion — over 10 years instead of later in the year. California’s healthcare safety net, it seemed, was buckling. (Mai-Duc, 10/16)