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Health and Human Services Publications

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Report

Proposition 36 at a Crossroads

February 23, 2006 - Proposition 36 provided annual appropriations from the General Fund through 2005-06 to implement a voter-approved initiative requiring drug treatment instead of incarceration in prison or jail for certain nonviolent drug possession offenders. The guaranteed appropriations for Proposition 36 are expiring, giving the Legislature discretion now to determine the level of funding for this measure. We comment on how the funding level should be set and proposals for making policy changes in the Proposition 36 law.

Report

Medi-Cal’s Bitter Pill: High Payments to Pharmacies

February 23, 2006 - Medi-Cal’s lack of accurate information about the prices of prescription drugs means that the program is reimbursing pharmacies much more than appears to be reasonable. We recommend legislation to ensure that reimbursement for drugs is set at more appropriate levels.

Report

Long-Term Care Caseload and Cost Trends

February 23, 2006 - An increasing portion of long-term care spending is for community-based services rather than institutional care. We examine the “cost-drivers” behind the growth in these costs and recommend that administration budget requests for long-term care projects be modified.

Report

Hospital Waiver Increasing State General Fund Costs

February 23, 2006 - A new federal hospital financing waiver is estimated to result in a net increase in Medi-Cal costs of $39 million over its first two years. We recommend that the waiver instead be implemented in a manner that avoids these costs and generates significant state savings.

Report

Future Federal Funding Shortfall for Healthy Families

February 23, 2006 - Future uncertainty about reauthorization of federal funding and the eventual exhaustion of unspent federal funds pose a risk of significant future increases in state costs for the Healthy Families Program (HFP). We present alternatives to hold down increases in overall HFP costs and to obtain additional financial support for the program.

Report

Better Oversight of Regional Center Purchases Needed

February 23, 2006 - Spending for some specific services and supports for persons with developmental disabilities varies so widely among regional centers (RCs) as to raise concerns about the fiscal controls over these expenditures. We recommend an audit to evaluate the situation.

Report

A Targeted Strategy to Constrain Costs and Improve Access to Community Care

February 23, 2006 - The Legislature should take steps to deter costly nonemergency visits to emergency rooms (ERs) and to improve access to care and quality of care in community settings. This should be accomplished by establishing effective copayments on the inappropriate use of ERs and by seeking available federal funds to improve access to primary care.

Report

Medi-Cal Budget Should Be Adjusted for Effects of Medicare Drug Benefit

February 23, 2006 - We review the state’s response to problems in the rollout of the new federal Medicare Part D prescription drug benefit and recommend Medi-Cal reductions of almost $335 million over two years to adjust for this rapidly changing situation.

Report

Analysis of the 2006-07 Budget Bill, General Government Chapter

February 23, 2006 - Analysis of the 2006-07 Budget Bill, General Government Chapter

Report

Analysis of the 2006-07 Budget Bill, Health and Social Services Chapter

February 23, 2006 - Analysis of the 2006-07 Budget Bill, Health and Social Services Chapter

Report

Mental Health Mandates Continue to Pose Challenges

February 22, 2006 - State costs for reimbursing counties for two state-mandated programs to provide mental health services for school children have grown significantly in recent years. Moreover, serious weaknesses are evident in the system for delivering these services for children in special education programs. To help guide legislative policy-making in this area, we provide background information on these two mandates, assess the Governor’s budget and policy proposals relating to them, and outline the Legislature’s options for addressing these issues.

Report

Assessing Recent State Efforts: Health Care for the "Hard-to-Insure"

December 7, 2005 - Chapter 794, Statutes of 2002 (AB 1401, Thomson), directed the Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) to evaluate the effectiveness of the measure in providing heath care coverage to individuals who are otherwise unable to obtain health benefits (the "hard-to-insure"). While we found there is now only limited information available to assess the outcome of various aspects of AB 1401, we concluded the measure has increased the state’s capacity to help hard-to-insure individuals access health coverage using the same level of state resources. Based upon our evaluation, we present several recommendations to improve the program by potentially reducing its costs to enrollees and the state.

Handout

Children's Services and Foster Care Overview

November 22, 2005 - Assembly Select Committee on Foster Care

Handout

California's Fiscal Outlook--The Implications for Medi-Cal

November 16, 2005 - Presented to Budget Subcommittee #1 on Health and Human Services

Handout

California's Fiscal Outlook--The Implications for Developmental Services

November 16, 2005 - Presented to the Budget Subcommittee #1 on Health and Human Services

Health and Human Services Staff

Mark Newton
(916) 319-8323
Deputy Legislative Analyst: Health, Developmental Services, and Technology
 
Jason Constantouros
(916) 319-8322
Medi-Cal/Managed Care/Family Health/Health Care Affordability and Workforce Development
 
Brian Metzker
(916) 319-8354
Privacy, Security, and Technology
 
Ryan Miller
(916) 319-8356
Medi-Cal/Behavioral Health/Covered California/CalHHS Agency Issues
 
Angela Short
(916) 319-8309
Child Welfare, Child Support, Community Services and Development, Community Care Licensing, CalSTRS
 
Karina Hendren
(916) 319-8352
Medi-Cal/Long-Term Care/Developmental Services
 
Will Owens
(916) 319-8341
Public Health/Behavioral Health/State Hospitals
 
Sonia Schrager Russo
(916) 319-8361
CalWORKs/CalFresh
 
Juwan Trotter
(916) 319-8358
In-Home Supportive Services/Aging Programs
 
Ginni Bella Navarre
(916) 319-8342
Deputy Legislative Analyst: Human Services and Governance