Eighty-two percent of Independents, 66% of Democrats, and 60% of Republicans say the program is “personally important” to them and their family. More than 6 in 10 residents (62%), including 75% of Independents, 58% of Republicans, and 53% of Democrats say they or a family member have received Medi-Cal services. More than 70% of Congressional District 41 (CD-41) residents say they oppose federal cuts to Medi-Cal. 

OAKLAND — Californians living in CD-41 overwhelmingly support 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 256,000 families, children, seniors, and people with disabilities in CD-41. While 34% of people in the district are enrolled in Medi-Cal, nearly 70% of CD-41 residents say Medi-Cal is “personally important” to them or their family, including 82% of Independents, 66% of Democrats, and 60% of Republicans according to a new poll conducted by the California Health Care Foundation (CHCF) and NORC at the University of Chicago. 

Across party lines, CD-41 residents believe Medi-Cal is “working well”— with 75% of Independents, 65% of Democrats, and 62% of Republicans holding this view. 

A sizeable majority of residents also say they have personal experience with Medi-Cal: More than 6 in 10 (62%) residents, including 75% of Independents, 58% of Republicans, and 53% of Democrats say they or a family member have received Medi-Cal services at some point. Nearly three in four (72%) CD-41 residents oppose federal cuts to the program.  

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 over the phone and online, with 97 people completing the survey via the telephone and 1,253 completing it via the web. 

“CD-41 residents, like millions of other Californians, have been relying on Medi-Cal for years to access health care services — and they are deeply opposed to cuts to the program,” says Kristof Stremikis, director of Market Analysis and Insight at CHCF. “Huge majorities of CD-41 residents support the Medi-Cal program, and they’re expressing a lot of anxiety about its future. People are worried that community members enrolled in Medi-Cal are going to lose benefits and have less access to care.”  

Other key findings in the new CHCF survey of CD-41 can be found below: 

• Across party lines, CD-41 residents overwhelmingly say that Medi-Cal should stay as it is, including 85% of Democrats, 82% of Independents, and 63% of Republicans. 

• CD-41 residents believe that everyone in California should have health insurance, even if it means increasing federal spending on health care: 97% of Democrats, 81% of Independents, and 53% of Republicans hold this view. 

• There is widespread anxiety about the future of Medi-Cal in CD-41: Nearly three in four (72%) residents are worried that future Medi-Cal enrollees will not be able to get the same benefits that are available today, including 91% of Democrats, 73% of Independents, and 50% of Republicans.  

• Only 11% of CD-41 residents — including 28% of Republicans, 4% of Independents, and 2% of Democrats — say the federal government spends too much on Medi-Cal. 

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