May 6, 2024 - Presented to: Assembly Budget Subcommittee No.1 on Health
March 3, 2022 - This brief analyzes the Governor’s three major behavioral health budget proposals. We include analyses of the Governor’s proposals to (1) provide funding for behavioral health bridge housing, (2) provide funding to implement certain solutions developed by the felony incompetent to stand trial solutions workgroup, and (3) add mobile crisis intervention services as a new Medi-Cal benefit.
May 22, 2024 - This post provides our initial assessment of the Governor’s proposed managed care organization (MCO) tax package in the May Revision. It first provides background on the MCO tax and the package that was in place at Governor’s budget. (The Governor’s budget included a plan to implement a multiyear spending framework that was adopted in last year’s budget.) Next, it summarizes the proposed changes at May Revision. It then provides our initial assessment and recommendations.
October 23, 2023 - This post summarizes overall spending in the 2023-24 budget package for health programs. It is part of our California Spending Plan series, which contains posts focused on each major sector of the state budget.
February 16, 2023 - This brief analyzes the Governor’s three major behavioral health spending proposals and two proposed behavioral health budget solutions involving delays in planned spending.
February 9, 2022 - This brief provides an update on some major recent state budget actions related to homelessness, describes the Governor’s homelessness budget proposals, and raises issues for the Legislature’s consideration.
May 30, 2023 - Presented to: Assembly Committee on Health Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 1 on Health and Human Services
February 27, 2024 - This post provides an overview of the Governor’s proposed budget for the Department of Health Care Access and Information, analyzes proposals around health care workforce programs, and provides an implementation update to two recently enacted hospital relief programs.
February 9, 2022 - This brief analyzes the Governor’s budget proposal for Medi-Cal. We include an analysis of the administration’s caseload projections, provide options for renewing the managed care organization tax (that the Governor proposes to let expire), and provide our assessment of the discretionary budget proposals to provide equity and practice transformation payments and eliminate certain existing provider payment reductions.
February 13, 2019 - In this report, we describe the major changes and proposals in the Governor's proposed $100.7 billion (all funds) Medi-Cal budget. Specifically, we advise the Legislature to seriously consider renewing the managed care organization tax, despite the Governor not proposing to do so; present issues for consideration related to the Governor's proposed expansion of comprehensive Medi-Cal coverage for young adults regardless of immigration status; and provide an initial assessment of the Governor's proposals to use Proposition 56 funding in Medi-Cal to extend and expand provider payment increases. We recommend approval of the Governor's proposals to improve fiscal oversight of the Medi-Cal budget, and also recommend that the Legislature require the administration provide additional information to the Legislature in an effort to improve fiscal oversight and transparency of this very large, complex budget going forward.
July 9, 2015 - Presented to Assembly Committee on Public Health and Developmental Services Second Extraordinary Session
May 14, 2019 - The Governor’s May Revision includes Medi-Cal spending of $19.7 billion from the General Fund ($93.4 billion total funds) in 2018-19 and $23 billion from the General Fund ($102.2 billion total funds) in 2019-20. As will be described in this post, about half of the reduction in estimated spending in 2018-19 reflects a shift of costs in Medi-Cal to a different budget item, rather than a true reduction in estimated program costs. After accounting for this shift, the May Revision is about $350 million below January estimates across 2018-19 and 2019-20.
July 2, 2015 - Presented to Senate Committee on Public Health and Developmental Services Second Extraordinary Session
December 21, 2018 - This post describes recent national developments pertinent to the reauthorization of California’s managed care organization (MCO) tax. The state’s prospects for receiving federal approval—which initially were uncertain—appear to be improved following the recent federal approval of a health insurer tax in Michigan that is structured similarly to California’s MCO tax.