California Federation of Labor Unions Backs Senate Democrats Proposal Making Corporations Pay Their Fair Share of Medi-Cal Costs

Release Date: April 16, 2026

Media Contact: Shubhangi Domokos, [email protected]

California Federation of Labor Unions Backs Senate Democrats Proposal Making Corporations Pay Their Fair Share of Medi-Cal Costs

Sacramento, CA - (Thursday, April 16, 2026) - For too long, multi-billion-dollar corporations have passed on their costs of doing business - including providing healthcare benefits to their employees - onto California taxpayers. Today, California Senate Democrats released their "Foundation for the Future" 2026-27 state budget proposal which included California Labor's budget proposal to make corporations pay their fair share of Medi-Cal costs for their workers.

"When corporations create poor quality jobs with low wages and without healthcare benefits, taxpayers are forced to cover health insurance costs for workers on Medi-Cal," said Lorena Gonzalez, President of the California Federation of Labor Unions, AFL-CIO. "We thank Senate President pro Tempore Monique Limón for her leadership in committing to California Labor's proposal to require corporations to pay their fair share and make contributions to cover the Medi-Cal costs of their workers."

The Senate Democrats' proposal calls for implementing a Fair Share Contribution program that would require the state's largest corporations - the top 1-2% - to contribute to the Medi-Cal costs of their workers. This will generate between $5 billion and $8 billion in annual special fund revenues, which will be dedicated to offsetting Medi-Cal costs to taxpayers, assisting struggling hospitals and supporting county health and human service program workers.

Currently, more than 3 million working Californians rely on Medi-Cal and 19% of jobs in California are held by workers enrolled in Medi-Cal, representing over $20 billion annually in public spending tied to the workforce. Employers that shift their costs onto taxpayers also put responsible employers at a competitive disadvantage, creating an unfair playing field.

The California Federation of Labor Unions, AFL-CIO has been working to pass similar legislative proposals to hold corporations accountable for passing on their healthcare costs onto taxpayers and the state since 2013 when the Federation sponsored AB 880.

For more information, or to set up an interview with Lorena Gonzalez to discuss this budget proposal, please contact Shubhangi Domokos, [email protected].

The California Federation of Labor Unions, AFL-CIO represents over 1,300 affiliated unions in California with over 2.3 million union members in trucking, retail, hospitality, janitorial, construction, health care, local and state government, education, arts and entertainment, warehousing and logistics, manufacturing, and every other sector of the economy.

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