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May 15, 2018 - Presented to Assembly Health Committee and Senate Health Committee
May 15, 2018 - Presented to Assembly Health Committee and Senate Health Committee
May 14, 2018 - In this post, we describe and provide our initial comments on adjustments to the Medi-Cal budget in the 2018-19 May Revision.
May 10, 2018 - This post responds to several requests for our office to estimate the cost of providing full-scope Medi-Cal coverage to undocumented adults over the age of 19 who are currently eligible for restricted-scope Medi-Cal coverage (that is, primarily emergency and pregnancy-related services). Based on a number of key assumptions, we estimate the total net state cost of this coverage expansion is approximately $3 billion in 2018-19. This net cost would be fully a state cost, and represents the change between the cost of providing full-scope Medi-Cal and the costs of providing restricted-scope Medi-Cal to the undocumented adult population.
April 27, 2018 - In this post, we provide background on new staffing requirements for certified nursing assistants working in skilled nursing facilities, describe the Governor’s proposals to address these new staffing requirements, assess those proposals, and make associated recommendations.
March 21, 2018 - This budget brief analyzes the Governor’s 2018-19 budget proposal to eliminate the use of the 340B Drug Pricing Program in Medi-Cal. The Governor’s proposed statutory changes are intended to generate state savings and reduce the administrative complexity of complying with federal law on duplicate discounts when 340B prescriptions drugs are dispensed to Medi-Cal enrollees. We find that the Governor’s proposal merits serious consideration from the Legislature since, among other benefits, it would likely result in state savings that the Legislature could, in turn, use to fund its priorities. We note, however, that these savings would be in place of savings currently enjoyed by eligible healthcare providers. Before making a decision on the Governor’s proposal, we recommend that the Legislature ask the administration to provide the following key information on the Governor’s proposal: (1) the amount of Medi-Cal savings that would be generated, (2) the impact on healthcare providers currently participating in the 340B Program, and (3) the trade-offs of alternative policy approaches to addressing the challenges that are present due to the use of the 340B Program in Medi-Cal.
March 14, 2018 - Presented to Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 1 on Health and Human Services
March 7, 2018 - Presented to Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 1 on Health and Human Services
March 1, 2018 - Proposition 55 (2016) aimed to increase funding for Medi-Cal under a formula administered by the Department of Finance. In 2018-19, the first year of implementation of this calculation, the administration’s interpretations and estimates result in no additional funds to Medi-Cal. Two key choices lead to this result. First, the administration’s decision to subtract $3.5 billion from available revenues to account for its proposed optional reserve deposit significantly reduces the calculation’s starting point, eliminating a surplus that would have directed funds to Medi-Cal. Second, the administration’s workload budget approach is based on a broad definition of currently authorized services, which also has the effect of reducing the amount of potential funds for Medi-Cal under the measure. Different decisions about these two features of the measure could result in more or less funding for Medi-Cal by hundreds of millions—or even billions—of dollars in the future.
February 16, 2018 - In this report we provide a broad overview of the Governor's health and human services budget, highlighting major year-over-year changes. We then provide a more in-depth analysis of select programmatic areas.
February 5, 2018 - Assembly Select Committee on Health Care Delivery Systems and Universal Coverage.
2/5/18: Correction to Figure 3.
November 15, 2017 - This online post discusses the major factors that we project will impact General Fund spending in Medi-Cal from 2017-18 to 2021-22.
This is part of a collection of material for The 2018-19 Budget: California’s Fiscal Outlook. See a complete list of this year's fiscal outlook material on our fiscal outlook budget page.
November 15, 2017 - In this fiscal outlook post, we discuss our near- and long-term costs projections for the In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) Program and significant cost drivers and savings.
This is part of a collection of material for The 2018-19 Budget: California’s Fiscal Outlook. See a complete list of this year's fiscal outlook material on our fiscal outlook budget page.
June 7, 2017 - Presented to Budget Conference Committee
June 2, 2017 - Presented to Budget Conference Committee