PRESS RELEASE
San Diego Healthcare Leaders, Advocates, and Medi-Cal Recipients Sound Alarm on Deep Federal Healthcare Cuts
Roundtable Co-Hosted by the Yes on Measure B Campaign Warns That 170,000 San Diegans Risk Losing Coverage Without Measure B
SAN DIEGO—Deep federal healthcare cuts will strip health coverage from an estimated 170,000 local residents, overcrowd emergency rooms, and drive further hospital layoffs unless voters approve Measure B this November, healthcare leaders and Medi-Cal recipients warned today at a San Diego roundtable.
Co-hosted by the Hospital Association of San Diego and Imperial Counties (HASDIC) and the Yes on Measure B campaign, the panel featured insights from former San Diego County Health & Human Services Director Nick Macchione, HASDIC President & CEO Dimitrios Alexiou, and two Medi-Cal recipients.
The roundtable highlighted a looming healthcare crisis for San Diego County and California as a whole. State officials estimate last year’s passage of H.R. 1 (the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act”) will strip healthcare coverage from 2.2 million Californians. Furthermore, new Medi-Cal work restrictions set to take effect in January 2027 could jeopardize coverage for another 327,000 San Diego County residents.
Panelists warned that this massive loss of coverage will trigger a dangerous ripple effect across San Diego County. As newly uninsured residents are forced to delay routine care, uncompensated care costs will surge when patients inevitably turn to emergency rooms—placing severe operational and financial strain on San Diego’s hospitals and clinics.
“Hospitals are already operating in an incredibly challenging environment. Significant reductions in Medi-Cal funding and coverage will only add to that pressure—threatening access to services, straining our workforce, and shifting more uncompensated care into hospital emergency departments,” said Dimitrios Alexiou, President & CEO of the Hospital Association of San Diego and Imperial Counties. “That is why Measure B is so important. It gives San Diego County a local tool to help protect access to care for uninsured and underinsured residents, support in-home care for seniors, and preserve critical health and safety-net services.”
Measure B is vital to protecting San Diego’s healthcare safety net and regional economy. Without its support for coverage, local businesses will suffer from a less healthy, less productive workforce.
“Everyone wants a healthy bottom line. Businesses want healthy profits and margins,” said Nick Macchione, former San Diego County Health & Human Services Director. “But to do that, you need healthy people. And when you have that, you have healthier, more productive workers. But you have to invest to achieve that in providing the type of infrastructure. Post COVID, we saw the surge of people coming into the emergency departments because they were delaying their care. These federal barriers are going to decrease medical coverage. You will have less healthy people that can be productive in the workplace.”
Organizers urged San Diego County voters to pass Measure B on the November ballot to prevent a breakdown of local health and safety infrastructure.
Measure B is a citizen-led initiative on the November 2026 ballot designed to protect local healthcare coverage, public health programs, 911 emergency response, public safety, and safe, affordable childcare in San Diego County. Measure B is endorsed by community advocates and labor including Planned Parenthood of Pacific Southwest, the American Academy of Pediatrics-San Diego Chapter, Hospital Association of San Diego and Imperial Counties, San Diego County Firefighters CAL-FIRE Local 2881, and First 5 San Diego. To learn more, visit www.voteyesonmeasureb.org.
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