Barragán Briefs: Rep. Thanks State Leaders for Safeguarding Medi-Cal & In-Home Care, Addressess Escalating Climate Threats

Rep. Barragán Thanks Gov. Newsom and State Legislators for Protecting Access to Medi-Cal and In-Home Care in Final 2025-26 State Budget Signed into Law

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Late June, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the 2025-26 state budget into law and delivered on protecting access to Medi-Cal and in-home care. In early June, Rep. Nanette Barragán (CA-44) led 16 members of the California Democratic Congressional Delegation in a letter urging Gov. Gavin Newsom and State Legislators to reject reinstating the $2000 Medi-Cal asset limit and to reject capping overtime hours for in-home supportive services (IHSS) providers.

Gov. Newsom’s original May budget revision proposed cutting access to state and federally funded Medi-Cal and Medi-Cal’s IHSS program by proposing to reinstate a low $2000 Medi-Cal asset limit for seniors and adults with disabilities. It had also proposed a cap on overtime and travel hours for IHSS providers, who provide in-home care to seniors and people with disabilities as an alternative to out-of-home care.

The final budget, negotiated by the Governor and State Legislature, reinstates a much higher Medi-Cal asset limit of $130,000 for individuals, rather than the Governor’s original proposal of $2,000 – it also did not include the proposal to cap overtime hours for IHSS providers.

Rep. Barragán July 13 issued the following statement following the Governor’s signing the budget into law:

“The proposals in the Governor’s May Revision included potentially devastating cuts to Medi-Cal and in-home care that would have threatened the health and financial stability of seniors, children, adults with disabilities, and home care workers throughout California. I appreciate that the Governor and the State Legislature took meaningful steps to protect access to Medi-Cal and in-home care in the final negotiated budget that was signed into law. I look forward to continuing to work together with the State to protect our essential in-home care workers and ensure Californians can access the affordable, quality health care they need.”

Rep. Barragán and Sen. Markey Introduce Resolution to Confront Rising Public Health Threats from Climate Change

WASHINGTON, D.C. — This week, Congresswoman Nanette Barragán (CA-44), a member of the energy & commerce subcommittee on health, and Sen. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), member of the environment and public works committee, introduced a resolution recognizing climate change as a growing threat to public health and calling for a coordinated federal strategy to protect communities from worsening climate-fueled harms. The resolution urges the Department of Health and Human Services or HHS and other federal agencies to lead a whole-of-government effort to protect public health and improve resiliency against climate-related threats throughout the health sector. Representatives Salud Carbajal (CA-24), Doris Matsui (CA-07), and Brad Schneider (IL-10) co-led the resolution in the House.

The climate crisis is here. In 2024, the United States experienced 27 climate disasters that caused more than a billion dollars each in damage. Increasingly frequent and extreme events — like wildfires, floods, and heat waves — are driving spikes in illness, displacement, and death. More than 150 million Americans live in areas with unhealthy air, and people with disabilities are 2 to 4 times more likely to die or be injured in climate-related disasters. Frontline workers in agriculture, construction, delivery, and manufacturing face growing health risks from extreme heat and poor air quality on the job. 

Specifically, the resolution:

• Demands the release of funding appropriated by Congress that would help to address climate-related health threats that has been held up by Federal agencies;
• Details the public health dimensions of the climate crisis, including increased risks of respiratory illness, cardiovascular disease, mental health stressors, pregnancy complications, infectious disease outbreaks, and disaster-related displacement;
• Highlights the disproportionate health burdens on children, people with disabilities, low-income households, communities of color, Tribal nations, and workers in high-risk occupations;
• Calls on the Department of Health and Human Services to lead cross-agency coordination to strengthen health system climate resilience, support frontline providers, close gaps in climate-health data, and help the health sector lower its own environmental impact;
• Affirms the importance of engaging environmental justice and community-based organizations in local climate-health preparedness and response efforts;
• Urges the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to adopt a national worker heat protection standard; and,
• Calls for annual public reporting on federal climate-health resilience investments and progress.

Details: The full text of the legislation can be found here.