Forum from the Archives: As Medicaid Cuts Loom, California Health Clinics Face Uncertain Future

KQED's Forum

KQED

News, Politics, News Commentary

4.2 • 726 Ratings

🗓️ 3 September 2025

⏱️ 55 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

The Republican spending bill signed into law by President Trump last month slashes an estimated $150 billion in federal Medicaid funding to California over the next 10 years. Nearly 40% percent of Californians rely on Medi-Cal for health coverage, and now millions are expected to fall off the rolls. That’s leaving medical providers bracing for impacts, especially in places already struggling to serve all who need care. We talk to heads of clinics in the Central Valley, Shasta County and Los Angeles to hear how they’re coping. Guests: Mitesh Popat, chief executive officer, Venice Family Clinic David Quackenbush, president and chief executive officer, Golden Valley Health Centers Jo Campbell, chief executive officer, Hill Country Community Clinic Miranda Dietz, interim director, Health Care Program, UC Berkeley Labor Center Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Support for Kiki Weedy Podcasts comes from San Francisco Opera,
0:03.7	a company sister Helen Prejean on a life-altering journey where her faith is put to the test.
0:08.4	This fall celebrate the homecoming of one of America's most important operas,
0:12.1	Dead Man Walking, September 14th through the 28th.
0:15.2	Ready to launch your business?
0:16.7	Get started with the commerce platform made for entrepreneurs.
0:20.0	Shopify is specially designed to help you start, run and grow your business
0:24.0	with easy customizable themes that let you build your brand,
0:27.6	marketing tools that get your products out there.
0:29.9	Integrated shipping solutions that actually save you time.
0:32.6	From startups to scale ups, online, in person and on the go.
0:37.1	Shopify is made for entrepreneurs like you.
0:39.6	Sign up for your $1 a month trial at Shopify.com slash setup.
0:46.2	From KQED in San Francisco, I'm Mina Kim.
1:06.3	Coming up on forum, Trump's spending bill slashes an estimated $150 billion in federal Medicaid funding
1:12.5	over the next decade, just to California alone.
1:16.5	That means millions here are expected to fall off the rolls, as some 40% of Californians
1:21.5	rely on Medi-Cal for health coverage.
1:24.1	Healthcare providers are bracing for impacts, especially in places that are already struggling to serve all who need care.
1:30.8	We listened back to my conversation last month with health clinic leaders in the Central Valley, Shasta County, and Los Angeles about how they're preparing.
1:39.7	Join us. Welcome to Forum. I'm Mina Kim.
1:51.0	Hospitals and clinics that serve California's Medicaid patients, called Medi-Cal here, are preparing for impacts from President Trump's spending bill, implementing hiring freezes, weighing the services they may need to cut first.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from KQED, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of KQED and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.