Newsom's Mandates Force Californians to Pay for Benefits They Don't Need

On May 5, 2025, Governor Gavin Newsom unveiled a plan that could reshape California’s healthcare landscape, and not for the better. Through the Department of Managed Health Care, the state applied to the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to update its benchmark plan, requiring coverage for hearing aids, fertility treatments, and wheelchairs by 2027. At first glance, these additions seem kindhearted, but they carry a heavy cost that families and small businesses will shoulder.

State leaders, including Senator Caroline Menjivar and Assemblymember Mia Bonta, champion this expansion as a lifeline for Californians with specific health needs. They argue it will empower children with hearing loss or couples seeking to start families. Yet this rosy narrative glosses over a harsh truth: mandating these benefits inflates premiums, restricts choices, and tightens government’s grip on personal decisions.

For ordinary families, this policy translates to financial strain. Already stretched by rising costs, they’ll face higher insurance premiums as insurers pass on the expense of these mandates. Small businesses, vital to California’s economy, will grapple with compliance, potentially slashing jobs or benefits to survive. Newsom’s team seems oblivious to these realities, prioritizing grand promises over practical outcomes.

This isn’t about denying care to those in need. It’s about who gets to decide what’s best for you. Forcing every Californian to pay for a one-size-fits-all plan undermines the freedom to prioritize what matters most to your family. The state’s approach feels less like compassion and more like control.

History shows that mandated benefits drive up healthcare costs, and California’s latest plan is no exception. A March 2025 Rutgers Health Services Research study found that one in four U.S. adults has a disability and faces barriers to quality care. Adding coverage for mobility devices or hearing aids aims to address this, but it ignores the economic ripple effects. When states impose mandates, insurers raise premiums and limit plan options to cope.

Consider hearing aids. They’re critical for some, yet mandating their coverage across all plans forces families who don’t need them to foot the bill. Fertility treatments, like in vitro fertilization, follow the same pattern: vital for a few, but costly for everyone when required. Republican lawmakers have long cautioned that Affordable Care Act mandates reduce market flexibility, a view reinforced during their 2017 push to dismantle federal benefit rules.

Small businesses, employing millions of Californians, face an outsized burden. The benchmark plan targets individual and small group markets, hitting employers with fewer than 50 workers hardest. These businesses lack the financial cushion of large corporations, leaving them to cut benefits, freeze hiring, or pass costs to employees. This outcome undercuts the state’s claim of promoting fairness.

The Affordable Care Act, passed in 2010, allows states to define essential health benefits, but California’s proposal leans heavily on federal oversight. By seeking CMS approval, Sacramento locks in mandates that bind insurers and consumers alike. The state’s public meetings, praised as inclusive, often amplify advocates’ voices while sidelining those who question the cost or necessity of these rules.

Looking back, California’s 2012 selection of the Kaiser Small Group HMO as its benchmark set the stage for state-driven control. Federal rule changes in 2018-19 offered more flexibility, yet California’s 2025 application doubles down on rigid mandates. Conservative proposals, like block grants for Medicaid to grant states true discretion, have been ignored in favor of top-down regulation.

Supporters, like California Health & Human Services Secretary Kim Johnson, argue that these mandates close coverage gaps. But their approach assumes families want or need every mandated benefit, ignoring those who prefer affordable, tailored plans. True equity comes from empowering individuals to choose, not dictating what their coverage must include.

Better solutions exist to improve healthcare access without crushing families. Market-based reforms, long advocated by conservative policymakers, emphasize competition and choice. Vouchers for catastrophic coverage, an idea from the Heritage Foundation in 1989, could let families buy plans that suit their needs. Exempting small businesses from heavy mandates would protect jobs and keep premiums in check.

California’s leaders reject these ideas, insisting mandates ensure access for all. But access means little when families can’t afford coverage. Data from Covered California shows high premiums already discourage enrollment. Piling on more mandates risks pushing more people out of the market, leaving them uninsured and worse off.

Other states offer lessons. North Dakota and Virginia updated their 2025 benchmarks with flexibility in mind, balancing access with affordability. California, by contrast, clings to a model that burdens its citizens with higher costs and less freedom. Instead of partnering with insurers to innovate, the state relies on regulation, missing a chance to deliver real value.

California’s healthcare mandates demand a response from anyone who values personal choice and economic stability. These policies, cloaked in empathy, threaten to suffocate families with soaring costs and limited options. Newsom’s vision of a state where every benefit is required, and every premium climbs, cannot go unchallenged.

Citizens and leaders must act. Back policymakers who champion market-driven reforms, like loosening federal benefit rules or restructuring Medicaid to prioritize local needs. Demand clear answers on how these mandates will hit your budget. Above all, reject the idea that Sacramento knows your healthcare needs better than you do.

This fight is about more than policy. It’s about defending your right to make choices for your family. California’s overreach is a step toward a future where freedom takes a backseat to government control. Let’s demand a better path before the damage is done.