Faced with dramatic cuts as a result of the One Big Beautiful Bill act, Shasta County officials are looking at cost-saving solutions to keep health care services afloat.
The county Board of Supervisors recently approved a $10 million general fund loan to the Health and Human Services Agency to be paid back by Oct. 31. The board also directed staff to report back at a later date with options to cut costs and potentially furlough Health and Human Services Agency employees, either on a mandatory or voluntary basis.
The $10 million will be used to pay for the costs to provide services mandated by law which will no longer be covered by federal funding.
The decision came after a presentation by Health and Human Services Agency director Christy Coleman, who shed light on some of the unsavory realities of the Big Beautiful Bill.
Coleman said a decrease in the federal share of funds used to pay for CalFresh will result in a $1.2 million increase to Health and Human Services Agency costs in the 2027 fiscal year.
Coleman also presented findings from the California State Association of Counties, which predicts dramatic increases to county costs to provide health care, dramatic losses to public hospital system revenue, and dramatic increases to workforce costs in counties across the state. The total anticipated cost to counties statewide is $6 billion to $9 billion.
Coleman said that, with an influx of individuals losing or not being able to afford Medi-Cal, the population will increasingly rely on the County Medical Services Program for health care coverage.
As a result of these shifts at the federal and state level, Coleman said Santa Clara and Yolo counties have already begun eliminating positions in numerous departments, closing offices, and shifting to remote work schedules as a way of saving money in preparation for increased health care costs.
Coleman presented several cost-saving solutions to the board at a May 19 board meeting, but the one that got the most attention was the possibility of furloughing employees.
Coleman said the department sent out a survey to employees on May 11 inquiring about their willingness to voluntarily forgo their salary or reduce work time. Out of 800 employees, over 300 responded, and 220 said they would be willing to reduce their schedule to half or three-quarter-time, or take a voluntary furlough day each month. This, Coleman said, would result in an estimated $1.5 million in savings.
Another option would be to enact mandatory furloughing, which Coleman predicted would result in $3.7 million in savings.
Supervisor Allen Long expressed concern that furloughing would result in an imbalance between the increasing health care needs of the county and the ability of the working employees to provide those services.
Coleman, however, said that staggering time between eligibility workers would allow the county to continue to provide an adequate level of service.
Supervisor Matt Plummer noted that a large percentage of Health and Human Services Agency employees did not respond to the survey, and that there may be even more employees willing to voluntarily furlough or reduce hours.
Coleman also said she has received emails from employees willing to shift to a four-day work week.
The board ultimately voted 4-1 in support of a motion made by Supervisor Chris Kelstrom to provide the department a $10 million loan and requested they return after budget hearings to discuss cost-cutting options. Plummer was the only opposing vote, supporting instead his own motion with more specific direction on how the department should cut costs.
Separate from Kelstrom’s motion, Supervisor Kevin Crye volunteered himself to be furloughed and requested that staff consider furloughing “senior admin staff” and his peers on the Board of Supervisors when they bring back cost-cutting options for the board to discuss.
These are far from the first financial troubles seen by the county Health and Human Services Agency.
The department is currently in a hard hiring freeze and received two county loans in 2025 in the millions of dollars to cover negative cash, as well as three extensions to pay back those loans.
Coleman also said that, between 2021 and 2025, Health and Human Services Agency costs increased 40% while revenues only increased 8%.
Drew Askeland covers Redding and Shasta County government issues, as well as anything else that needs reporting for the Record Searchlight and USA Today Network. Reach him at drew.askeland@redding.com or (530) 225-8247. Please subscribe today to support our newsroom’s commitment to public service journalism.
This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: Shasta County eyes HHSA furloughs as ‘Beautiful’ bill hits home
Reporting by Drew Askeland, Redding Record Searchlight / Redding Record Searchlight
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