When President Trump secured victory in the election, he quickly announced that he would be making changes within the government, including eliminating departments and labor force cuts. He created the Department of Government Efficiency, led by billionaire Elon Musk, with hopes of creating a leaner federal budget to maximize government spending, which has people concerned about how budget cuts will affect government programs and the people who benefit from them.
In 2023, 1,400 community health clinics served more than 37 million people. California also faces a $2 billion deficit in 2025, according to the state Legislative Analyst’s Office. While this budget shortfall is much smaller than the current year’s deficit of $27 billion, it may not be able to cover cuts from federal funding.
Medicaid is the largest source of federal funds coming into state budget accounts, for an average of 56 percent of a state’s budget. Cuts in Medicaid dollars impact all areas of a state’s budget, not only health care.
States also get about 17% of their Community Health Centers (CHC) funding from Section 330 grants, which in 2023 amounted to a total of $5.7 billion nationwide.
In 2023, California received $5.8 billion from Medicaid and almost $1 billion from Medicare in reimbursements for CHCs. The state received an additional $715 million in Section 330 grant funding, according to data from KFF.
“The Section 330 public health program is the foundational program for access to healthcare for communities across the United States,” said Louise McCarthy, President and CEO of the Community Clinic Association of Los Angeles County. “It’s been around for decades, and it’s championed by both parties,” she said in an interview with Ethnic Media Services. “Presidents on both sides of the aisle have seen and championed major expansions of the program, which offsets the costs associated with serving the uninsured and providing them comprehensive high-quality services,” said McCarthy.
McCarthy continued stating that community health centers are mandated to do much more than a typical private physician’s office. “You’re talking translation. You’re talking outreach and education enrollment linkages to additional services, screening people for social risk factors beyond health care, and addressing housing, transportation, and food insecurity. It is really about being rooted in the community and serving the needs of the community.”
McCarthy hopes that Prop 35 brings investments and some stabilization to the healthcare safety net and prevents some of the erosion that would have otherwise happened without it.
