Guest blogger Michele Mashburn
All Things Disability Equity strongly condemns the Governor’s proposed cuts in the May Revision of the 2025–26 state budget. The June 15 deadline for legislative action is just days away. These proposals represent a systematic dismantling of California’s disability support infrastructure. They threaten the safety and survival of disabled people, low-income seniors, immigrants, and others who depend on comprehensive community-based services.
These are not merely cost-saving measures. They represent a coordinated attack on every system that supports disabled Californians. This action forces our most marginalized communities deeper into poverty, isolation, and risk of institutional care.
Critical Threats to Community Care
Reinstating Punitive Medi-Cal Asset Limits
The proposed restoration of a $2,000 cap for individuals and $3,000 for couples will take effect in January 2026. This change reverses the asset test elimination that took effect just one year ago. This policy forces disabled Californians who do not qualify for ABLE accounts into artificial poverty to keep healthcare coverage. While the administration projects savings of $94 million initially, they also estimate $791 million in ongoing savings. These numbers represent real people stripped of basic healthcare access.
Targeting Immigrant Communities
The budget proposes freezing new Medi-Cal enrollments for undocumented adults beginning January 2026, followed by $100 monthly premiums and elimination of long-term care and dental benefits by 2027, while simultaneously eliminating IHSS for undocumented adults. This contradicts the Governor’s own 2019 commitment. He stated, “Every person should have access to quality, affordable health care.” These changes represent a fundamental betrayal of communities already marginalized by systemic barriers to care.
Destabilizing IHSS Services
The proposed 50-hour weekly cap on IHSS overtime and travel time will force recipients to navigate provider shortages or go without essential care. This policy ignores the reality that many disabled Californians rely on trusted relationships with single providers. These relationships are long-term and based on an understanding of their complex needs. The result will be increased risk of injury, isolation, and unnecessary institutionalization.
Abandoning Housing and Homelessness Solutions
The May Revision provides no new funding to address homelessness despite over 350,000 Californians receiving services last year, while cutting $31.7 million from housing programs. With federal cuts to rental assistance looming, disabled Californians face compounded threats of housing instability. They also experience reduced in-home supports and restricted healthcare access. These challenges push them toward institutionalization rather than community living.
Additional Healthcare and System Cuts
Beyond these core threats, the May Revision weakens California’s healthcare infrastructure. It does so by ending acupuncture coverage and eliminating dental and family planning provider payments. It suspends healthcare workforce programs during critical staffing shortages. Furthermore, it adds barriers to hospice care and pharmacy coverage, including GLP-1 medications.
The budget’s damage extends across every system supporting disabled Californians and marginalized communities. There are over $120 million in cuts to developmental services. The state funding for crime survivors is eliminated, leaving disabled survivors with no safe exit from abuse. There are major reductions to child welfare programs that disproportionately harm disabled children. The budget also cuts childcare benefits for providers serving disabled children. It reduces higher education investments. This change threatens access for disabled students. Additionally, there is a lack of sufficient funding for Proposition 47 programs. These programs successfully reduce recidivism for disabled individuals who are criminalized for unmet behavioral health needs.
For a detailed analysis of budget impacts, refer to the California Budget & Policy Center’s overview. See First Look: Understanding the Governor’s 2025-26 May Revision.
The Larger Threat: Preparing for Federal Rollbacks
These state-level cuts appear designed as preemptive retreats in anticipation of federal Medicaid funding reductions. California’s “optional” Medicaid benefits — the very services that make our system equitable and community-based — are particularly vulnerable to future elimination.
At-risk optional benefits include:
By systematically excluding populations and reducing services now, California is building the infrastructure for even deeper cuts later. This signifies a fundamental shift in how our state values lives that need care and support.
What Californians Can Do
All Things Disability Equity urges Californians to contact their state representatives and:
- Reject all proposed cuts to IHSS and Medi-Cal in the May Revision
- Publicly commit to maintaining the full range of optional Medicaid services
- Oppose any effort to strip disabled people, seniors, or immigrants of their right to care in their homes and communities
- Invest in community-based care as both the most cost-effective and most humane approach
- Restore and expand funding for affordable housing and homelessness services
Find your representatives at legislature.ca.gov (enter your address on the page to find your representatives) to share your thoughts on these critical issues. Community members are welcome to use any content from this statement in their own advocacy efforts.
Conclusion
California has long positioned itself as a leader in disability rights and healthcare equity. These proposed cuts abandon that leadership at a time when it’s most needed. Californians deserve elected officials who choose equity over austerity, community care over institutional profit, and human dignity over political expediency.
We encourage all community members to make their voices heard and hold their representatives accountable for protecting those most at risk.
Contact: All Things Disability Equity
Michele Mashburn
Michele@allthingsdisability.org
Calls to Action and resources by other organizations:
Lanterman Coalition: Take Action! Tell State Legislators that Californians with Disabilities Should Be Protected from Budget Cuts
Equity on the Line: The Dangerous Cost of Cutting Support for Black Women
El Arc de California Responds to Governor’s Budget Targeting Immigrant Families
153 Aging and Disability Stakeholders’ Response to May Revision of Proposed 2025-26 State Budget
This communication is provided for educational purposes and to encourage civic participation. All Things Disability Equity is committed to advancing disability equity through education on ableism, disability-informed inclusive practices, and leadership development.
