Forty-seven percent of Congressional District 40 (CD-40) residents say the program is “personally important” to them and their family and 63% think the program should stay as it is. 

Two-thirds of residents oppose federal cuts to the program, including 89% of Democrats, 53% of Republicans, and 51% of Independents. 

OAKLAND — Californians living in CD-40 share broad support for the state’s Medi-Cal program, which provides health care services to nearly 15 million people with low incomes across the state, including more than 157,000 families, children, seniors, and people with disabilities in CD-40. While 21% of people in the district are enrolled in Medi-Cal, almost half of CD-40 residents (47%) say the program is “personally important” to them or their family, and more than 4 in 10 say they or a family member have relied on Medi-Cal services at some point, according to a new poll conducted by the California Health Care Foundation (CHCF) and NORC at the University of Chicago. 

A majority of CD-40 residents (54%) believe Medi-Cal is “working well,” and almost two-thirds (63%) think the program should stay as it is.  

Two-thirds of residents oppose cutting federal Medi-Cal funding, including 89% of Democrats, 53% of Republicans, and 51% of Independents. 

Interviews for this survey were conducted between March 17 and March 25, 2025, with 1,350 adults age 18 and older in California Congressional Districts 22, 40, and 41. Interviews were conducted online and over the phone, with 97 people completing the survey via telephone and 1,253 completing it via the web. 

“Large numbers of low-income families, seniors, and people with disabilities in Orange County rely on Medi-Cal to get the health care services they need, and this new survey shows that the vast majority of residents don’t want this vital lifeline to care cut,” says Kristof Stremikis, director of Market Analysis and Insight at CHCF. “Anxiety about the future of the program is spreading. Residents are worried that community members who rely on Medi-Cal will have fewer benefits and less access to care in the future.”  

Other key findings in the new CHCF survey of CD-40 can be found below: 

• 91% of residents in CD-40 say Medi-Cal is “important,” including 94% of Democrats, 88% of Independents, and 87% of Republicans.  and Republicans. 

• Across party lines, strong majorities of CD-40 residents believe that everyone in California should have health insurance, even if it means increasing federal spending on health care. This includes 88% of Democrats, 62% of Republicans, and 60% of Independents.  

• More than two-thirds (69%) of CD-40 residents are worried that future Medi-Cal enrollees will not be able to get the same benefits that are available today.   

• Less than a quarter (23%) of CD-40 residents believe that the federal government spends too much on Medi-Cal. 

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About the California Health Care Foundation