In LA County, federal cuts could put Medi-Cal coverage at risk for more than one million residents — more than any other county in California — according to a 2028 projection by the UC Berkeley Labor Center.

More than 3.8 million L.A. County residents, or 39% of the population, were enrolled in Medi-Cal at the start of this year. Because of federal cuts and changes, about 1.1 million of them could lose that coverage by 2028, according to an analysis by the U.C. Berkeley Labor Center.

Introduced by Assemblymember Damon Connolly, D-San Rafael, and Assemblymember Isaac Bryan, D-Los Angeles, Assembly Bill 2157 also directs the EDD to work with the University of California, Berkeley Center for Labor Research and Education to develop recommendations for making the fund permanent.

About a million people in Orange County currently qualify for Medi-Cal, and a study issued earlier this year by the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research and the UC Berkeley Labor Center projects that as many as 249,000 of those people could lose their plans over the next two years. The same study projects that by 2028, the number of newly uninsured could rise by 1.1 million in Los Angeles County, by 189,000 in Riverside County and by 177,000 in San Bernardino County.

The Center for Labor Research and Education at the University of California, Berkeley “estimates the Medi-Cal cuts could lead to a loss of 72,000 to 145,000 healthcare jobs throughout California, representing 3% to 5% of the state’s 2.65 million healthcare positions,” the Register noted. “These job losses include positions in hospitals, clinics, and home care.”

“Some folks will find coverage through their employer or a family member’s employer, but there will be a lot more uninsured,” Dietz said. And county health systems — clinics — are one place uninsured people turn to for help when they get sick.

A joint analysis from the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research and the UC Berkeley Labor Center estimates that as many as 2.98 million fewer Californians could be enrolled in full-scope Medi-Cal by 2028 if the federal and state policy changes move forward.

The UC Berkeley Labor Center estimates the Medi-Cal cuts could lead to a loss of 72,000 to 145,000 health care jobs throughout California, representing 3% to 5% of the state’s 2.65 million health care positions. These job losses include positions in hospitals, clinics and home care.

According to the UC Berkeley Labor Center, several cities in the county have higher minimum wages, including Alameda ($17.46), Berkeley ($19.18), Emeryville ($19.90), Fremont ($17.75), Hayward ($16.90) and Oakland ($17.34).

Janus “has allowed some unions to have more ongoing conversations with represented workers,” said Brenda Muñoz, the executive director of the UC Berkeley Labor Center. “Because they have to be able to demonstrate the value of being part of a union.”