The County Welfare Directors Association of California (CWDA) respectfully urges the Legislature to protect Medi-Cal coverage for 4.6 million impacted low-income Californians by investing in the county eligibility workforce as the State prepares to implement new federal Medicaid requirements under H.R. 1. If adequately funded, well-trained, and fully staffed, the county eligibility workforce is an upstream approach to mitigate downstream, system-wide impacts of H.R. 1, impacts that would increase uncompensated care costs.