Canceling healthcare coverage for child care providers is a death sentence

OPINION – When my doctor first said the word, “cancer,” my mind shot to my family – the two children I brought into this world and the 14 little learners who spend every weekday in my home‑based child‑care program. My husband – my best friend of 22 years – held my hand, tears in his eyes, and whispered, “we can do this together.” As my oncologist urged me to fight, I wondered how much strength I had left. I’d already served my country overseas, battled the relentless attacks of multiple sclerosis (MS), and spent years piecing together health coverage from partial veterans’ benefits and my husband’s insurance.

Three years on, I’m still in treatment for breast cancer and living with incurable MS. Yet every day I remind my children – and every child in my care – of the motto that carries me forward: “You may see me struggle, but you will never see me quit.”

That spirit burned even brighter when our last state contract created a healthcare fund for child care providers. For the first time, I could cover my out‑of‑pocket medical costs and focus on healing instead of juggling bills.

Now Governor Newsom is poised to take that lifeline away, stripping health insurance from 60,000 providers like me. I’ve fought too long and too hard to let that happen. The battle continues—because quitting has never been an option.

Weeks ago, Newsom boasted to the world that California has grown to be the planet’s fourth largest economy. At the same time, child care providers who care for the state’s neediest children were sitting down at the bargaining table with Administration officials. There, we heard a different story: Despite our work to power the state’s economy, our largely woman of color workforce was no longer a priority for this Governor.

The Administration is threatening to walk away from a commitment – negotiated just two years ago – to address a crisis in poverty pay that forced thousands of child care providers to shut their doors and left families scrambling to get to work. Even though the state estimates payments for children in subsidized programs only cover 30% of the time and expense providers put into keeping children safe and learning, the Administration is walking away from a commitment – signed into law by Newsom’s own hand – to reimburse providers for the full cost of the care we provide.

For someone earning just $4 an hour after expenses – in the months I’m able to pay myself at all – the state’s retreat on paying us fairly is an insult. It’s as if Newsom believes that California’s economic strength is built solely on wealthy investors and global corporations, rather than the people who scrub the floors of Silicon Valley office buildings, make beds in hotels that support state tourism, or people like me who care for the children of workers doing these vital but low-wage jobs.

Just last week I spoke to a mother willing to drive 90 minutes in each direction twice a day in our rural region to have me care for her toddler so she could get to work. If California backtracks on strengthening care now, we can expect to see more parents facing unthinkable choices about where their kids would stay as they work to put food on the table.

For someone battling two life-threatening diseases, Newsom’s proposal to cancel healthcare coverage for child care providers is far more than just an insult. It’s a death sentence.

But I’m not done fighting. It is my kids – my son and my daughter – and the passion I put into my child care work that keeps me determined to overcome cancer. And it’s for all the kids and families who rely on my 60,000 sister caregivers that I’m asking legislators to stand strong behind our caregiving workforce. Child care workers’ contract expires July 1. Legislators have until June 15 to deliver a state budget that keeps California’s promise to fair provider pay and benefits.

I’m fighting because my life depends on it – and because our kids are worth it.

Pamela Rocha is a family child care provider in Siskiyou county.