Valadao’s Vote to Gut Medicaid: “No State has More to Lose” than California

• When Republican congressman David Valadao joined his GOP colleagues in passing the One Big Beautiful Bill Act last month, he stressed that it would protect the most vulnerable people in his district who rely on Medicaid.
• But Valadao…[is] playing with political fire. According to a new analysis by the Brookings Institution, the budget bill will slash Medicaid spending by $806 billion over the next decade.
• “Perhaps no state has more to lose than California,” says the California Health Care Foundation in its understanding of the bill.
• No California representative has more of his district depending on Medicaid…than Valadao. Fully 67% of his 22nd District’s residents…depend on the federal health program for medical care.
• Republicans like Valadao can say Medicaid is not being abandoned. But the Brookings analysis shows that most recipients will face major impacts. 
• It is “quite likely that there will be people…who have reported disabilities, who have other chronic conditions, and…who are caring for children or elderly parents, who may also lose coverage”…said Jennifer Tolbert, deputy director of the health policy research group KFF.
• Seniors on Medicare will have additional paperwork to fill out if they also need Medicaid. This could cut another 1 million out of coverage, Brookings estimates.
• About 15 million Californians utilize Medi-Cal. Of that, 1.6 million seniors and people with disabilities are enrolled in the system, according to state data. Another 5 million children are insured through Medi-Cal and the accompanying Children’s Health Insurance Program.
• In backing the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, Valadao…showed [he fears] the wrath of Trump more than [his] own voters.
• In 2017, Valadao voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act. Then in 2018 he lost his re-election bid. When Election Day draws near next year, Democrats will remind District 22 voters of Valadao’s support for the One Big Beautiful Bill, as they aim to again remove him from Congress over a crucial health care vote.

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