As Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) make sweeping cuts to the federal bureaucracy and congressional Republicans are thought to be sharpening the knives for Medicaid, California will be forced to borrow almost $3.5 billion to cover a budget gap in its own medical care program.
The figure — given in a letter sent by Governor Gavin Newsom’s administration and seen by Politico — represents the total amount the blue state can borrow and would only be sufficient to pay off bills for Medi-Cal, its version of the national health care program, until the end of the month, according to state Department of Finance spokesperson HD Palmer.
