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SACRAMENTO—A growing coalition of dentists, educators, farmworkers, community leaders, and local elected officials is calling on state lawmakers to reject Governor Newsom’s proposed cuts to Medi-Cal Dental for children. The budget proposed Friday would eliminate an estimated $144 million in Medi-Cal Dental funding for kids, triggering the loss of approximately $182 million in federal matching funds and contributing to painful toothaches that are the leading cause of missed sc

SACRAMENTO—In the face of looming reductions to Medi-Cal Dental funding for children, a growing coalition of dentists, educators, farmworkers, community leaders, and local elected officials has mobilized to call for strong and stable support for Medi-Cal Dental for children. While dentists have made meaningful gains in reaching more California kids in recent years, a significant cut in 2026 would shatter the system and dismantle a fragile Medi-Cal network that providers have

Dental pain is one of the most common—and most preventable—health problems for kids in our state. Yet California ranks near the bottom nationally for children’s oral health and access to care.  California ranks 47th in the nation for children with untreated cavities, with 15% of kids affected each year.  Fewer than half of children on Medi-Cal visit the dentist each year , well below the state’s own 60 percent target.  Ten counties in California have no Medi-Cal Dental provid

Dental services for 30,000 under-resourced adults, kids and seniors are at risk in our community. The federal government is threatening to cut Medicaid benefits – which includes offering affordable dental care to low-income people – to fund tax cuts for the wealthy. These cuts would affect 10 million people statewide, all of whom rely on Medicaid benefits (known as Medi-Cal in California). The proposed cuts are shortsighted and fail to recognize the long-term human impact of

Los Angeles Times — Eight years after an independent state watchdog agency harshly criticized the state for failing to provide dental care to low-income children, California has failed to remedy the problem or fully implement the commission’s recommendations, according to a follow-up review published last week. The Little Hoover Commission found that less than half of the children in Medi-Cal received an annual dental visit in 2022 — 3% higher than when the initial report was