California Gov. Gavin Newsom and the legislature reached a budget agreement that delays $1 billion in proposed Medi-Cal Dental cuts until July 1, 2027, according to the California Dental Association (CDA). The 2026-27 state budget preserves current Medi-Cal dental reimbursement rates and benefits for undocumented individuals enrolled in the program.
The proposed cuts, which would have reverted reimbursement to 1990s-era levels, targeted funding tied to Proposition 56, the 2016 tobacco tax measure that expanded Medi-Cal Dental access. A CDA survey found that nearly half of Medi-Cal dentists said they would leave the program if the cuts had taken effect.
Medi-Cal Dental covers about half of California's children and a third of its adults. The CDA said it will keep pushing legislators and the state's next governor to permanently remove the cuts, as Medicaid-related dental cuts continue to draw scrutiny nationwide.
