(Inside California Politics) — More than 100 health care workers and people with disabilities rallied Wednesday at the state capitol Wednesday, urging lawmakers to protect key programs amid federal cuts.

Advocates said H.R. 1 — President Donald Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” — could cut as much as $30 billion from Medi-Cal. Nearly 3.4 million low-income and disabled Californians depend on the state-run Medicaid program for critical health coverage.

“We demand that the state Legislature and [Gov. Gavin Newsom] step up and backfill these cuts from the federal government and save health care for our communities,” said Jim Mangia, president and CEO of St. John’s Community Health.

During last week’s budget presentation, California Department of Finance Director Joe Stephenshaw said the Newsom administration was monitoring the potential impact of federal funding cuts. But the governor has not outlined a formal response plan, leading to community pushback.

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