June 13, 2025
Contact: Julian Gonzalez, (916) 213-5125
Legislature’s Budget Fails to Uphold California Values, Maintains Discriminatory Health Care Cuts for Immigrant Communities
SACRAMENTO, CA – The California Pan-Ethnic Health Network (CPEHN) responded with profound disappointment after the Senate and Assembly voted for a budget plan that legislates discrimination, kicking immigrant Californians out of health care coverage and dental care.
Kiran Savage-Sangwan, CPEHN Executive Director, said the following:
“Legislators can’t tell us they’re protecting immigrant communities at the same time they are kicking immigrant Californians out of health care. They can’t say this budget reflects California’s values when it retreats from our state’s commitment to ensure everyone has access to healthcare, regardless of where we were born.
“CPEHN will tell the truth about the impacts of this budget, even if legislators will not: Forcing immigrant families with extremely low incomes to pay monthly premiums for health care – that other patients do not – means they’ll go without health care rather than leaving their children hungry. Taking dental care away means forcing people to live in needless pain and suffer harm to their overall health. Legislators’ budget expands the number of immigrants subject to being frozen out of health care, and puts farmworker families, with seasonal jobs and uneven income throughout the year, at great risk of being locked out of care for life.
“We thank Sen. Menjivar, Sen. Durazo and Asm. Arambula for their courage to tell the truth about the Legislature’s budget and oppose its passage or withhold their vote today. Even more lawmakers including Asm. C. Rodriguez, Asm. Elhawary, and Asm. Bonta supported this budget with the trust that the discriminatory premiums and freeze would be mitigated and we are counting on them to stand by this commitment. If Legislators and the Governor don’t reverse course and protect Health for All Californians in the final budget, people will get sicker and people will die. Those people will be the very same immigrant Californians our elected leaders have so proudly claimed to protect.
“Rather than patting themselves on the back for a budget that isn’t as bad as the May Revise, Legislators should show real leadership in standing for California’s values, and ask more of corporations exploiting tax loopholes and those paying workers so little they’re forced to rely on our safety net.”
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About the California Pan Ethnic Health Network
The California Pan Ethnic Health Network brings together and mobilizes communities of color to advocate for public policies that advance health equity and improve health outcomes in our communities. Learn more at cpehn.org.