Billion-dollar cuts to the Santa Clara Valley Healthcare system leaves county leaders with no choice but to slash more than 100 medical worker jobs and the essential services they provide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
County Executive James Williams confirmed to Metro Silicon Valley they are projecting a larger budget deficit for the 2026-27 fiscal year as healthcare funding cuts from the federal spending policy known as the \u201cBig Beautiful Bill\u201d take hold. About 30% of Santa Clara County\u2019s $13.7 billion 2025-26 budget funding came from now-compromised programs like Medicare and Medicaid\u2014distributed by the state as Medi-Cal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a lot the state can do\u2014they certainly should not be exacerbating the federal impacts,\u201d Williams said. \u201cThe most recent budget adopted by the state layers its own medical cuts on top of federal cuts, and that is very concerning. The state needs to take care of its public hospital systems.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Medicare is a federal health insurance program benefiting people older than 65 along with younger people with disabilities, while Medicaid provides benefits to low-income adults and children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Medicaid is the single largest source of federal revenue for the County of Santa Clara, representing about $1.9 billion in funding. About 70% of the county\u2019s public healthcare system is funded by Medicare and Medicaid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Coupled with the financial burden of the county\u2019s recent $150 million Regional Medical Center purchase, county leaders are desperate to find ways of addressing federal funding gaps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
County supervisor Otto Lee described the Big Beautiful Bill as a \u201creverse Robin Hood.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWith the expansion of our health and hospital system after the acquisition of Regional Medical Center, we\u2019re now serving more residents who are targeted by these cuts,\u201d Lee told Metro Silicon Valley. \u201cMedicaid cuts will impact our entire system of care and will be felt by everyone in our community\u2014not just our Medicaid patients.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To offset the upcoming funding losses, county leaders recommended in the 2025-26 budget the elimination of 119.5 full-time Valley Healthcare jobs\u2014negatively impacting patient care capacity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
County supervisors also replaced $59.6 million in federal funding for supportive housing, public health and behavioral health services with local sources of funding to \u201cprevent the federal administration from dictating cuts to those essential services.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Supervisor Susan Ellenberg told Metro Silicon Valley they are not in a place to make a statement on the potential impact of federal cuts on existing services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe loss of coverage does not mean we won\u2019t provide care,\u201d she said. \u201cSo we will not turn anyone away from an emergency room or urgent care, but we’re also aware that we will see far fewer reimbursements, either from the state or the federal government. We will have to reallocate money from our own finite budget to provide that care.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Supervisor Betty Duong said she is worried the already anticipated $1 billion in federal cuts is just the tip of the iceberg, and the county will struggle to budget its way out of consistent blows to federal funding for local healthcare.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The county will lose federal healthcare cost reimbursements from 450,000 previously insured residents seeking treatment at facilities in Gilroy, Milpitas, Morgan Hill, San Jose and Sunnyvale as a result of the Big Beautiful Bill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe cannot shut down a billion dollars worth of services elsewhere in the county organization to backfill this\u2014we\u2019re not able to do that without causing irreparable harm for generations to come for our most vulnerable residents who rely on the county for a swath of services,\u201d Duong told Metro Silicon Valley. \u201cThis is an existential crisis here at the County of Santa Clara and for all counties across the country.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Darcie Green, CEO of the healthcare-focused nonprofit Latinas Contra Cancer, has lobbied county leaders throughout the year to call for more proactive identifications of alternative funding sources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She told Metro Silicon Valley her organization along with local healthcare advocates are hosting a town hall Aug. 1 to discuss the upcoming impact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAs a service provider and community-based organization, we know these federal and state cuts will hit hardest where people are already struggling to access care. We\u2019re already seeing fear and confusion. People are unsure if they\u2019ll still qualify, worried about new premiums, or facing impossible choices between paying for food, housing, or care\u201d Green said. \u201cNow is the time for the community to rally around our public healthcare system, to demand bold solutions from Sacramento, and to ensure that those most impacted are leading the way.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Billion-dollar cuts to the Santa Clara Valley Healthcare system leaves county leaders with no choice but to slash more than 100 jobs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14789,"featured_media":20183189,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_eb_attr":"","_expiration-date-status":"","_expiration-date":0,"_expiration-date-type":"","_expiration-date-categories":[],"_expiration-date-options":[]},"categories":[1686],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n