CAFP Responds to Governor's May Revision: Budget Cuts Jeopardize Access to Care for Millions of Californians

SACRAMENTO, Calif., May 14, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The California Academy of Family Physicians (CAFP) is dedicated to working toward ensuring that all Californians have access to needed health care services. Governor Newsom has been a national leader in expanding access to health care access, including for undocumented immigrants. Given the federal landscape and his past leadership on health access, we urge the Governor to continue to be a principled leader in fighting for the fundamental right of access to health care for all Californians. Governor Newsom's May Revision of the 2025-26 state budget proposes deep and far-reaching cuts to Medi-Cal services and the suspension of vital workforce investments that jeopardize access to care for California's most underserved populations.

"California's family physicians care for our state's most vulnerable patients—children, seniors, immigrants, communities of color, LGBTQ+ individuals, and those struggling to make ends meet," said CAFP President Dr. Anthony Chong. "These proposed cuts destabilize the programs that allow us to care for those most in need."

Family physicians serve as the backbone of primary care delivery in Medi-Cal. Cuts that impose new barriers, freeze enrollment for undocumented adults, eliminate critical benefits, and reduce clinician payments will widen existing health disparities and shift costs to emergency care settings—making care more expensive and less effective for everyone.

CAFP is also deeply committed to creating a more efficient health care system that invests in primary and preventive care. CAFP is deeply concerned about the proposed suspension of the Proposition 56 loan repayment program. These programs are essential to attracting and retaining family physicians in rural and underserved communities, where primary care clinician shortages are already critical.

"The health care system does not have natural incentives to provide primary care. Loan repayment programs have been essential in getting primary care physicians to rural and other underserved areas," said Dr. Chong. "Without this support, fewer physicians will choose to practice in California's high-need areas, and patients will face longer wait times or go without care altogether."

Family physicians provide comprehensive, whole-person care from birth through end-of-life. We see firsthand how sustained access to preventive, primary, and culturally affirming care changes lives and saves money. CAFP thanks Governor Newsom for his historic commitment to creating a better health care system for all Californians and urges lawmakers to not abandon those principles when it matters most. 

CAFP urges the Governor and Legislature to reject these cuts and recommit to a budget that protects patient access, advances health equity, and strengthens the primary care workforce.

About California Academy of Family Physicians (CAFP)

With almost 11,000 members, including active practicing family physicians and residents in family medicine CAFP is the largest primary care medical society in California. Family physicians are trained to treat an entire family's medical needs and address life's medical challenges. Family physicians serve a broad base of patients in urban, suburban and rural areas, often in California's most underserved areas. For more information, visit www.familydocs.org.

SOURCE California Academy of Family Physicians