Information provided by the Office of Senator John Laird. Lea este artículo en español aquí.
Senator John Laird, Chair of the Chair of the Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee, commended Governor Gavin Newsom’s signing today of Assembly Bill 108, an emergency budget measure providing urgent financial relief to hospitals at immediate risk of closure and helping preserve access to critical healthcare services in vulnerable communities across California.
AB 108 establishes a one-time grant program of up to $25 million, administered by the California Department of Health Care Access and Information (HCAI), to support nonprofit and public hospitals experiencing immediate and significant financial distress.
Eligible hospitals must have fewer than 10 days cash on hand, have exhausted other financial options, and serve patient populations where more than half of patients are enrolled in public programs or are uninsured. The measure is intended to stabilize a small number of hospitals that could otherwise become insolvent before July 1.
“These hospitals are essential providers of care in communities that often have few alternatives,” said Laird. “AB 108 provides an immediate lifeline to help keep critical healthcare services operating while the Legislature continues work on broader, long-term solutions.”
The legislation was advanced as part of an early action budget effort responding to mounting financial pressures facing hospitals across the state.
In addition to the immediate funding provided through AB 108, the Senate Democratic budget plan proposes $200 million in the 2026–27 budget to support a broader group of financially distressed hospitals statewide.