Working families to pay nearly 10% more for Covered California healthcare coverage as Trump’s cuts take effect

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Coalition calls for passage of Prop 40, the California Billionaire Tax, a measure that will make billionaires pay their fair share to keep local hospitals open and healthcare affordable for millions

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Californians enrolled in Covered California will face another sharp increase in healthcare costs in 2027. Premiums are expected to skyrocket by an average of 9.9% as rising healthcare and prescription drug costs collide with the Trump administration’s sweeping federal cuts to healthcare funding, according to new figures released by Covered California.

The increase comes after premiums rose 10.3% in 2026, adding to mounting pressure on California families already struggling with the high cost of healthcare. Covered California officials said the federal government’s decision to cut healthcare funding and allow enhanced Affordable Care Act tax credits to expire is contributing to worsening affordability for millions of Americans.

The news comes as the federal government also announced it would defer nearly $900 million in Medicaid payments to California, creating even more uncertainty for the state’s healthcare system and the millions of Californians who rely on Medi-Cal.

“This is exactly what frontline healthcare workers have been raising the alarm about: working families are paying the price for Trump’s healthcare cuts that gave tax breaks to billionaires,” said Debru Carthan, Executive Vice President for SEIU – United Healthcare Workers West. “We must pass Prop 40 to make billionaires pay their fair share in taxes – it’s the only way to stop millions of Californians from losing their healthcare coverage and seeing their hospitals and clinics close.”

Trump’s “Big, Ugly Bill” slashed funding for healthcare in California to pay for more billionaire tax breaks, eliminating healthcare coverage for up to 3.4 million Californians and doubling health insurance premiums for millions more. Clinics across California are closing, hospitals are laying off workers, and life-saving services are being cut. Working families in California are already seeing their healthcare costs skyrocket, and it’s only getting worse.

Now, as Trump’s massive federal healthcare cuts begin to rip healthcare away from millions of Californians, a growing list of organizations and lawmakers is supporting Prop 40, which makes more than 200 California billionaires pay a modest, one-time tax to keep local hospitals and ERs open and healthcare affordable for millions of Californians.

The number of major supporters for the billionaire tax has far outpaced the groups opposing it. Prop 40 scored a major victory with a “yes” vote endorsement from the California Democratic Party, California Young Democrats, and California Labor Federation. Hundreds of elected officials, labor unions, and community-based organizations have endorsed Prop 40, including U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders, Rep. Ro Khanna, Rep. Judy Chu, the California Nurses Association, the California State Parent Teacher Association (PTA), Teamsters California, AFSCME California, SEIU-UHW, Committee of Interns and Residents / SEIU, UNITE HERE Local 11, UNITE HERE Local 30, AFT Local 1521, Disability Voices United, Our Revolution California, Oxfam America, Color of Change, and many, many more.

This surge in momentum for Prop 40 includes a poll of likely 2026 California voters that found that the billionaire tax holds a strong double-digit, 19-point lead statewide, with voters supporting it by a 57% to 38% margin. Support rises dramatically among constituencies that form the backbone of the Democratic Party, with 80% of Democrats, 70% of union members, 63% of teachers, 63% of healthcare workers, and 56% of independent and no-party-preference voters supporting Prop 40. 

Prop 40 qualified for the ballot after supporters submitted more than 1.6 million signatures from Californians across the state — nearly twice the number required to qualify — making it one of the strongest citizen-led ballot qualification efforts in California history.

Billionaires already pay much lower tax rates than what working families pay out of every paycheck. They insist on paying less and sticking the middle class with the bill. Prop 40 will enact a tax paid ONLY by Californians worth more than $1 billion, a small group of people who together hold $2 trillion in wealth – most of which will never be taxed due to loopholes that favor the ultra-wealthy. 

By voting YES on Prop 40, California voters can raise about $100 billion to replace the healthcare funding Trump and his billionaire donors took from working people to hoard even more wealth. The funds will go to life-saving medical care for seniors, veterans, and families. It will allow millions of Californians to keep their health insurance and not see their premiums skyrocket. It will also help prevent teacher layoffs in our public schools and keep children fed through food assistance programs.

California’s more than 400 hospitals statewide have already laid off more than 3,400 healthcare workers, and a second wave of layoffs is expected as funding cuts from Trump’s “Big, Ugly Bill” hit healthcare providers. Statewide, projections show the cuts could result in the loss of up to 145,000 healthcare jobs, impacting hospitals, clinics, and home care providers. California has already been grappling with a longstanding shortage of healthcare workers, leaving hospitals and clinics stretched thin even before Trump’s cuts.

Without revenue from Prop 40, these federal healthcare cuts are expected to put an estimated 83 California hospitals and clinics at risk of closure. Cuts and closures have already started, impacting communities from Los Angeles to Oakland to Glenn County. 

About Prop 40, the California Billionaire Tax Act

Trump’s “Big, Ugly Bill” slashed funding for healthcare in California to pay for more billionaire tax breaks. These cuts eliminate healthcare coverage for up to 3.4 million Californians and double health insurance premiums for millions more. Prop 40, the California Billionaire Tax Act, will make billionaires finally pay their fair share in taxes to keep local hospitals and ERs open and healthcare affordable for millions of Californians.

Vote YES on Prop 40 to save lives, tax billionaires. 

YESon40.com

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