*Note: The names of the mothers quoted in this story are pseudonyms. We are withholding their identities because of immigration status issues.
REDWOOD CITY, Calif. — Weeks before attending a community roundtable on the future of Medi-Cal, Juana received a call from someone claiming to be with the county government. They wanted her social security number and her children’s.
When she refused to give the information over the phone, the caller threatened to shut off her Medi-Cal (California’s version of Medicaid).
“I told them I couldn’t give out that kind of information because I didn’t know who they were,” she said in Spanish during the June 18 roundtable held at Casa Circulo Cultural in Redwood City. When she said her husband didn’t have a social security number, the caller told her he had no right to coverage. Then came questions about her own immigration status.
Juana’s Medi-Cal, she told the room, was deactivated shortly after the call, though it is unclear if the two are linked.
She was one of 10 pregnant or parenting mothers who gathered for the forum, organized by American Community Media. The event brought community members alongside two senior officials from the California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) which administers Medi-Cal.
It comes as H.R. 1 — the GOP spending package otherwise known as the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” — introduces sweeping changes, including the loss of about $30 billion in annual federal funding for the state. The cuts are projected to leave up to 3.4 million of California’s 14.9 million enrollees without coverage.
Nationally, Medicaid and ACA enrollments have fallen by more than 5 million, according to a new report from the advocacy group Protect Our Care. The declines are linked to federal funding cuts and the expiration of ACA subsidies.
Among the changes to Medi-Cal: a new enrollment freeze as of January 1, 2026 for non-pregnant undocumented adults; an end to non-emergency dental coverage as of July 1, 2026 for non-pregnant undocumented adults and others with unsatisfactory immigration status; a restriction of satisfactory statuses as of October 1, 2026 due to federal reclassification of refugees, asylees, humanitarian parolees and domestic violence and human trafficking survivors; and new $30 monthly premiums as of July 1, 2027 for adult enrollees with unsatisfactory immigration status.
Fears over coverage
The mothers gathered at Casa Circulo brought concerns spanning every stage of family life: pregnancy, birth, infancy and childhood. Amid fears about surgeries, temporary newborn coverage, dental care, and postpartum cycling on and off the rolls, was a larger fear that healthcare could be taken away at any moment, or expose them to deportation.
“With everything that’s happening right now, paying for a birth is extremely expensive,” said Juliana, six months pregnant. “The postpartum check-ups, the psychological support, my other children — what will happen to my children if they suspend our coverage because of our immigration status?”
“Any of my children may get sick at any moment, and I may need those services,” added Katarina. “If they take away our coverage, we won’t be able to get care for anything that comes up.”
Diana, who has four children, said she saw no type of family that would be spared. “It’s going to affect all of us — those born here, those who came from another country. Insurance is expensive here.”
Veronica, a new mother not currently employed, said her husband struggles to maintain work.
“Right now we don’t have Medi-Cal, nor money to secure insurance, and it’s especially a concern for our children, especially for the newborn,” she said, adding that her coverage had been repeatedly revoked because she can’t document employment. “They activate it and then take it away because they want proof of my employment. It’s very difficult to sustain that.”
Ximena said she’d be losing at least one form of coverage regardless: “Starting June 1, I no longer have dental, and I don’t know if they’re also going to take away my general coverage.”
Francesca added that her infant’s coverage had been listed as “temporary” since his first pediatric visit after birth, and she feared she wouldn’t be approved for permanent coverage: “My worry is that it’s going to be denied.”
“A surgery has been recommended for me and I don’t know if they’re going to cover it,” said Denise. “Like everyone is saying, our biggest worry is that they take away Medi-Cal for us and our children.”
Yesenia echoed what she described as a “constant anxiety” around eligibility.
“You don’t know what new requirements they’re going to impose for Medi-Cal, because it keeps getting harder to qualify,” she said. “Your income has to be very low to qualify, and we all know that rent in this area is extremely expensive and everything keeps going up in price. Every time a Medi-Cal letter arrives, I open it thinking ‘Now what?’”
Reassurance amid uncertainty
Sarah Crow is chief of the DHCS Medi-Cal Eligibility Division. She responded to the concerns by stressing that Californians already enrolled in Medi-Cal can keep their coverage regardless of immigration status, as long as they complete their renewal paperwork.
On the issue the mothers raised most often — whether their Medi-Cal information could be shared with immigration enforcement — Crow acknowledged the fear was grounded in real concerns.
“We are in a different world than we have been previously,” she said, noting that a longstanding data-sharing firewall between the Medicaid program and the Department of Homeland Security was breached under the current administration and that federal lawsuits are still unfolding.
“What we can say is that the state of California is not sharing your information,” Crow continued. “We do not want to do anything to upset communities by improperly sharing information with federal agencies.”
“Please be very careful, because calls are not always real,” she added, addressing Juana’s phone call. “You are right not to give any information over the phone. Ask for a name and go directly to your county office in-person.”
On the 2027 changes, Crow explained that non-disabled adults will generally need to renew their coverage every six months instead of annually, and to demonstrate work or community service to maintain it.
When asked whether those work requirements applied to pregnant women and new mothers, Crow was direct: “No. Mothers up to 12 months postpartum will be exempt.”
Alternative care options
Sarah Gilbert, chief of the DHCS Office of Family Planning, highlighted a separate option for reproductive and preventive health: Family PACT, the state’s free low-income program for family planning services including birth control, testing for sexually transmitted infections, fertility awareness, cervical cancer screening and reproductive health screening.
Unlike Medi-Cal, “Family PACT does not require a social security number and does not store that information,” she explained, meaning that “it’s not possible to share that information … with federal authorities.”
“Enrollment can happen on site with the provider and people can be determined to be eligible that same day,” she continued. “The staff at the doctor’s office can help assist with that enrollment … but people can also enroll themselves online at any time … It’s a great option for the future.”
When asked whether the Medi-Cal cuts and changes introduced under the Trump administration might be reversed under a future administration, Crow was honest that she could offer no prediction amid federal uncertainty.
“Medi-Cal has changed with every administration,” she said. “It can always be the case.”
