County officials warn HR 1 would add work requirements, boost administrative burden and shift roughly $40 million to Orange County

Orange County officials told the Commission to Address Homelessness on Oct. 15 that proposed federal changes in HR 1 will create new work requirements and more frequent eligibility renewals for Medi-Cal and CalFresh, increasing barriers for people experiencing or at risk of homelessness.

Anh Tran, director of the Orange County Social Services Agency, said the county has lost the federal "0-income" waiver that previously allowed automatic Medi-Cal renewals for people with no documented income. Tran said HR 1 also introduces a never-before-implemented Medi-Cal work mandate requiring eligible adults to participate in roughly 80 hours a month of acceptable activities such as work, volunteering or training to retain coverage. In addition, Tran said Medi-Cal recertification will shift from once a year to a full re-application every six months.

"This waiver is no more," Tran said of the 0-income renewal exception, and added that counties currently lack clear federal guidance for implementing many HR 1 provisions.

Tran described parallel changes for CalFresh: beginning Feb. 1, 2026, able-bodied adults without dependents (ABAWDs) ages 18'to 64 will face verification of roughly 20 hours per week of work or training to remain eligible, and exemptions historically available to veterans, former foster youth and people experiencing homelessness were removed in the draft guidance the county has received.

Tran warned that those administrative and eligibility changes would create additional workload without new administrative funding. "There is no provision or no funding identified for the administration of the work," Tran said. "We are doing twice the work in terms of the redetermination, but there is no indication from the feds or the state that additional funding will be provided."

County staff estimated the cumulative effect of federal rule changes and related financial shifts could cost the county roughly $40,000,000 in net additional costs once fully implemented. Tran said the increase would reduce the county's ability to perform outreach, hire and retain eligibility staff, and provide coordinated care.

Why it matters: Commissioners and county staff said the changes could make stabilizing people who are unsheltered or on the verge of homelessness far more difficult, at a time when local providers already report tight budgets and an increasingly fragile system of supportive housing.

What's next: County staff said they are preparing training curricula and outreach plans but await clearer implementation guidance from state and federal agencies. Commissioners asked the Office of Care Coordination to return with recommendations and urged coordination with community partners to minimize coverage losses and program churn.

Quotation: "This is going to be a huge financial shift," Tran said, adding an estimate that "in Orange County alone, we expect that shift once fully implemented to be roughly about $40,000,000 in net county costs."