May 22, 2009. Schwarzenegger insists on no additional taxation, but is pushing health cuts to Medi-Cal and Healthy Families that will add 2 million more uninsured in California:

• 470,000+ children will loose Medi-Cal coverage, by requiring parents to re-register their kids every 3 months.

• 433,000+ low-income working parents will lose no-cost Medi-Cal coverage, by reducing maximum income from $18,000/year to $11,000/year for a family of three.

• 73,000+ seniors and people with disabilities will lose no-cost Medi-Cal coverage, by reducing maximum income from $1,079/month to $870/month. People in this range would have to spend $350 each month for "share of cost" before Medi-Cal would kick in.

• 1 million+ children will lose Healthy Families medical coverage if the plan is eliminated, as proposed yesterday. Healthy Families provides coverage for kids whose families earn $$46,000/year for a family of three.

In addition, Schwarzenegger proposes eliminating CalWorks, the state's welfare program providing income for 500,000 low-income families with children, and phasing out CalGrants, providing aid for 77,000 low- and middle-income college students annually.

More on the Budget

Listen to "Dismantling the New Deal in California," KPFA's May 28th Living Room Special program on the California Budget Disaster, who's responsible and what needs doing. (Click on the forward arrrow below to start, and drag the slider to the following times to hear the following speakers.)
07:10: Lonnie Hancock, legislative perspective, possible 2010 legislative reforms.
23:10: People from Lifetime, on the elimination of CalWorks, the State's Welfare Program.
28:25: Marty Hittleman, Calif. Fed. of Teachers, on education cuts, fiscal smoke & mirrors.
38:00: Anthony Wright, Health Access, 2 million more uninsured, worse care for the rest.
45:40: David Dayen, Calitics, "Don't believe Dems saying no options", gifts to corps.
51:30: Franklin Lopez, Hopium, Obama's Hype of Hope, more class opppression.

A complete report on the health cuts is available from Health Access by clicking here (pdf).

Read "California's Cavernous Loopholes" by Lenny Goldberg, executive director of the California Tax Reform Association.

Reed Robert Sheer's May 26 TruthDig column, "Stuff the Bankers, Starve the Kids."

See David Binder poll showing Californians oppose a cuts-only budget (p. 7) , oppose health and home care cuts (p.10) , and support a variety of revenue-generating measures (p. 9)

Read SF Gray Panther letter "The War on Medi-Cal" as California eliminates 9 so-called "optional benefits" from the Medi-Cal healthcare program for low-income families.