SACRAMENTO >> California could lose up to 217,000 jobs if Congress cuts Medicaid, according to a policy brief by the University of California, Berkeley, Labor Center.

About two-thirds of the lost jobs (up to 145,000 jobs) would be in health care sectors, including jobs at hospitals, clinics, nursing homes, insurance companies and home care, according to the policy brief.

Republicans unveiled a legislation earlier this month with at least $880 billion in cuts to Medicaid by 2034 to offset the cost of $4.5 trillion in tax breaks, the Associated Press reported.

The cuts to Medicaid, also known as Medi-Cal in California, over a 10-year period are part of plans to slash trillions of dollars in federal spending to offset the Trump administration’s proposed tax cuts.

According to the policy brief, released April 28, the federal cuts would not only threaten health care access for 15 million Californians currently enrolled in Medi-Cal, but would also lead to the loss of health care jobs and other jobs in the state, putting hundreds of thousands of people out of work.

“Hundreds of thousands would lose jobs at a time when economists already warn of a potential recession,” said Laurel Lucia, director of the Labor Center’s health care program.

Lucia said Medi-Cal is an essential source of funding for many health care providers, including hospitals, clinics and nursing homes.

“If these federal cuts go through, those providers will have fewer resources, and that could impact staffing levels and access to care for people with all types of insurance,” Lucia said.

The state could expect to see between $10 billion and $20 billion fewer federal dollars per year coming to the state’s Medi-Cal program, a key pillar to California’s health care system. More than one-third of the state’s population is covered by Medi-Cal.

Distributed by Tribune News Service.