Merced, CA (February 14, 2026) — Today, Assemblywoman Esmeralda Soria (D-Merced) introduced AB 1923, an update and new round of $300 million in funding to the Distressed Hospital Loan Program (DHLP), which was created in 2023 to help re-open Madera Community Hospital and prevented other hospitals throughout the state from closing.
“The risk of losing access to critical healthcare services for Californians has never been greater than right now. That’s something I hoped I would never say AGAIN,” Assemblywoman Soria said. “Dozens of hospitals are facing a financial cliff right now, thanks to the largest federal healthcare cuts in history that arrived with this new federal administration in 2025. A wave of hospital closures threatens the health and well-being of all Californians, especially those living in underserved rural areas throughout the Central Valley.”
DHLP was created in 2023 from legislation authored by Assemblywoman Soria and State Senator Anna Caballero (D-Fresno). The $300 million program helped successfully reopen Madera Community Hospital in March of 2025 and prevented other hospital closures across the state.
AB 1923 updates the DHLP by infusing the program with an additional $300 million in new funding, clarifies loan forgiveness terms, and ensures all hospitals at risk of closure can participate in future funding rounds.
Under normal circumstances, DHLP would address financial distress created by federal funding cuts and other financial issues facing the hospital industry, but the program’s existing funding has been depleted, and it was not built to withstand additional, unprecedented federal cuts. Without revisiting these issues, there is a major risk that hospitals will close, service lines will be cut, and a large number of healthcare jobs will be lost in California.
