Why it Matters

Who is Affected

What You Can Do

Mythbusting

What is Happening

Medicaid covers 1 in 3 Californians—including low-income families, seniors, disabled people, and the care providers who support them.

It funds In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS), pays care providers’ wages, and makes it possible for millions to live at home with dignity instead of being forced into institutions. Without it, care collapses.

Right now, extremist politicians are trying to gut Medicaid through:

Cruel “work requirements” that punish caregivers, elders, and people with disabilities
Deep budget cuts that slash IHSS and endanger entire families
False claims of “fraud” used to block people from vital care

This is not just policy. It’s an attack on dignity, care, and working people.

Care workers and our clients depend on Medicaid to survive. This is our line in the sand.

Why Medicaid Matters

Millions of Californians could lose care

Medicaid, which is called Medi-Cal in California, covers 1 in 3 people in California. Cuts would rip healthcare away from mostly low-income workers, parents, children, seniors, veterans, and people with disabilities.

Home care would be slashed

Medicaid funds more than half of IHSS. Without it, care hours disappear, wages drop, and vulnerable people are forced into institutions. Entire families lose the support they rely on to survive.

Care providers and our clients are in the crosshairs

The so-called “work requirements” are a trap. They’re designed to kick people off care—even if they’re already working, caring for family, or unable to work due to age or disability.

These cuts directly target our communities

Let’s call it what it is: a targeted attack on women, immigrants, working-class families, people with disabilities and care providers. And when care gets cut, entire communities bleed—hospitals, clinics, and nursing homes will lose billions, threatening closures and deepening health inequity statewide.

1 in 3 Californians rely on Medicaid

6 in 10 UDW members rely on Medi-Cal for their own healthcare

5 million+ people at risk if cuts go through

8 million+ people could lose care under work requirements

Up to $612 billion is on the chopping block nationwide, making this the biggest healthcare attack in a generation

Who is Affected

Get the story straight from the source

What Can You Do?

Take Action

The fight isn’t over unless we stay silent. Every call, every email, every story makes a difference. Here’s how you can show up and say: we demand protection for Medicaid and the people it serves.

Light Up the Phone Lines

Make your voice impossible to ignore. Call UDW’s hotline and we’ll connect you directly to your representative and tell them: Do not support the budget bill and do not cut Medicaid.

Flood Their Inbox

30 seconds is all it takes. Use our simple tool to send a powerful message directly to your elected officials. Add your own story to make it even stronger.

Mythbusting

Don’t believe the lies and misinformation. Get the facts.

When they twist the truth to take our care, we push back with power and proof.

Work requirements don’t help—they harm.

These rules don’t promote work—they’re bureaucratic traps designed to kick people off care, even if they’re eligible.

On the surface, work requirements for Medicaid might sound “reasonable,” but the reality is cruel and dangerous. Most people on Medicaid already work*, are providing care, or are unable to work due to disability or age. These requirements add layers of red tape and reporting that many can’t navigate, especially home and child care providers and clients who are already medically fragile.

They’re not fighting fraud. They’re fighting workers like us.

*Source: Kaiser Family Foundation

Fraud is the excuse. Cutting care is the goal.

Politicians claim they’re “rooting out fraud,” but the real target is everyday people—and the programs we rely on.

Claims of fraud might make headlines, but that’s not what’s draining Medicaid. In fact, fraud rates in Medicaid are extremely low* and systems already exist to investigate and punish bad actors.

What these politicians really want is to slash billions from Medicaid by pretending it’s all going to waste. Their “solutions” won’t stop corporate abuse, but they will push families, elders, disabled people, and care providers out of the system.

This narrative is designed to divide and distract. The real fraud is pretending these cuts are about saving money, not dismantling public care.

Source: *Georgetown University

Debunking the “no cuts to Medicaid” lie.

Some lawmakers claim they’re “protecting Medicaid”—but their plans slash funding so deeply, coverage loss is inevitable.

Some politicians claim they won’t cut Medicaid. But here’s the truth: their proposals would reduce Medicaid spending by hundreds of billions of dollars over the next decade. There is no way to make cuts that deep without terminating care for millions of people: the elderly, veterans, children, people with disabilities, and the care providers who support them.

They’re playing word games while the lives of our clients and our livelihoods hang in the balance. A cut is a cut—no matter how they try to spin it.

*Source: Center on Budget and Policy Priorities

Contact Us

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