© 2024 KALW 91.7 FM Bay Area
KALW Public Media / 91.7 FM Bay Area
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
KALW is proud to partner with CalMatters on our 2024 election coverage.

California Prop 35: Funding Medi-Cal services

KALW
/
KALW

Subscribe to the Gimme My Props podcast for election explainers covering California, San Francisco, Oakland, Berkeley, and Richmond in two minutes or less.

California Proposition 35 would require the state to use money from a tax on health insurance plans towards payments to doctors who serve Medi-Cal patients.

Over the last few years, the state has expanded Medi-Cal to cover more Californians than ever, now around 14 million people.

But the amount that doctors get paid to treat Medi-Cal patients has not kept up with inflation.

And, as a result, many providers won’t treat them, according to the California Health Care Foundation.

Supporters say Prop 35 will encourage doctors to serve more low-income patients because they’d be getting paid more for their services.

Opponents worry putting restrictions on how the state spends this money could mean cuts to other Medi-Cal programs.

This explainer was reported by Kristen Hwang with our newsroom partner CalMatters. Check out out the full CalMatters 2024 Voter Guide here.