Hundreds in Kern County rally against Medi-Cal's proposed budget cuts

On Tuesday morning, hundreds of Bakersfield residents gathered, dressed in black, carrying coffins and marching alongside a hearse to urge U.S. Congressman David Valadao to keep his promise to oppose massive Medi-Cal cuts. 

The demonstration comes ahead of Thursday’s expected congressional vote on a rushed plan that could strip millions of Californians of their health care. Many of the locals met at G Street, where the funeral procession started, and marched about 15 minutes to Valados' district office. 

Demonstrators were also joined by the Dolores Huerta Foundation and We Are California, which is a coalition made up of over 65 organizations that are working together to advocate for the continuation of health care access programs.

Community members participating in the march are also participating in a hunger strike, some for 72 hours and others for 24, as a show of solidarity and a powerful call for Congressman Valadao to protect Medi-Cal and other essential programs that many from his district benefit from.

Marcela Cina was one of the residents involved in the fasting and also in the rally to spread awareness about the potential cuts that can affect many in her community. “For me personally, they affect things like our access to healthcare. My grandparents rely on Medi-Cal a lot and, as far as I know, use it for cancer treatment. So with stuff like cancer treatments and …prescription medicines, all of that is very important to us and we use it and we rely on it and so we need to make sure that we can still maintain access to it,” Cina said.

The Republican-led Congress is currently rushing to pass a budget with almost $800 billion in cuts to the federal budget, which includes funds for Medi-Cal, with a vote on the plan expected as soon as Thursday. This will directly impact 15 million Californians who rely on Medi-Cal for their health care, including two out of three people who live in Valado’s district, putting lives at risk. Even worse, the devastating health care cuts are being made to give huge tax breaks to the highest income earners and corporations.

The Center for American Progress estimates that 3,481 lives would be lost in California each year under just one provision of the devastating Republican proposal, including 136 of Valadao’s constituents needlessly dying each year because their health care was terminated. 

In the Central Valley, 527,192 people in Congressman Valadao’s district rely heavily on Medi-Cal; his district also has the highest Medicaid enrollment of any congressional district in the nation. Over 65% of residents depend on the program for their health care needs.

Dolores Huerta, who is also partaking in the hunger strike, said that if Valadao doesn't keep his word on voting against the proposed Medi-Cal cuts, many locals in Kern County are going to go hungry, not just in the Central Valley but throughout California and in the United States.

“They are cutting the food and we are [the ones] putting the resources and giving the money to the billionaires, and we know that we do not want that,” she said.

Gema Pérez is the executive director of Gracey Waking Group, a nonprofit organization that has served the community for over nineteen years. Entirely volunteer-run, the group is dedicated to community improvement with a strong focus on health. “The fact that the community is here speaks to the great need for the huge problem of this issue in healthcare and the cuts to Medicare, Medicaid, and low-income programs,” Gema said.

She also explained that many individuals who were at today's rally did not go to work so that they could participate in the demonstration of the somber funeral procession and also so that they could unite outside Congressman Valadao’s office. “He has the power to vote, to say ‘o’ to these cuts, ‘o’ to these programs that would hurt thousands of people,” Gema said.

The budget cuts will impact more than 80 million Americans, including one in three Californians who use these programs. Medi-Cal currently covers the following:

- Nearly four in 10 children and over eight in 10 children who are in poverty. 

-Qualified pregnant women. 

-Adults ages 19 to 64 with disabilities. 

-People aged 65 and over who meet financial limits. 

Additionally, Medicaid covers people with disabilities from physical conditions, intellectual or developmental disabilities, serious behavioral disorders or serious mental illness. According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2023 data, 13.4% of Kern County residents live with a disability.

For many individuals, Medi-Cal serves as a lifeline, providing essential support that helps them maintain their independence and quality of life, while others depend on it to put food on the table for their families while accessing health care they cannot pay out of pocket.