KFF: California Faces $3B Deficit While Implementing Work Requirements That Could Disenroll 1.4 Million

KFF publishes the most detailed analysis of California's work requirements implementation challenges. Key data: FY2027 deficit of $3B (growing to $22B by FY2028), $1.1B Medicaid cost from reconciliation law alone, up to 1.4M projected disenrollments. Only 63% of affected adults already comply. State allocated just $4M for navigators across 19 languages. HHS interim final rule due June 2026 leaves minimal prep time before January 2027 implementation. For FQHCs: disenrolled patients become uninsured sliding-fee-scale patients — a massive revenue hit.