Analysis: GOP Health Care Bill Could Cost California $114 Billion
SACRAMENTO (AP) -- California officials say the state's budget could take a $30 billion annual hit if health care legislation proposed by U.S. Senate Republicans is passed.
An analysis released Wednesday by the state Department of Health Care Services concludes the bill would have a $114.6 billion impact on California's budget between 2020 and 2027. It would initially add $3 billion in costs in 2020 and increase to $30 billion by 2027.
The costs would come largely from reductions in federal Medicaid funding. More than 3.8 million California residents are on Medi-Cal, the state's insurance program for the poor, through an expansion of the program included in former president Barack Obama's health care overhaul law.
Department director Jennifer Kent says the legislation "takes a sledgehammer" to improvements in California's health care system.