The past year ushered in a new age of fiscal challenges for the county as President Donald Trump and a Republican-controlled Congress passed legislation last summer that triggered unprecedented cuts to the federal Medicaid program. Known as Medi-Cal in California, the program provides health insurance to low-income and disabled individuals. As the operators of the second-largest county health and hospital system in the state, Trump's landmark tax-and-spending bill has left a giant hole in Santa Clara County's growing budget for the coming years.
