The 2021-22 Budget: Initial Comments on the Governor’s May Revision

May 17, 2021 - On May 14, 2021, Governor Newsom presented a revised state budget proposal to the Legislature. (This annual proposed revised budget is called the “May Revision.”) In this post, we provide a summary of the Governor’s revised budget, focusing on the overall condition and structure of the state General Fund—the budget’s main operating account.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4432/8

The 2021-22 Budget: Analysis of the Governor’s Medi-Cal Telehealth Proposal

May 13, 2021 - Background Medi ‑Cal Is the State ’s Medicaid Program. Medi ‑Cal is the state ’s Medicaid program. As a joint state ‑federal program, Medi ‑Cal costs are shared between the state and federal governments, usually with each paying 50  p ercent of costs.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4430

Impact of COVID-19 on Health Care Access

May 7, 2021 - The remaining 14  million state residents generally obtain health care coverage from insurers (usually PPOs) overseen by the state Department of Insurance (6  million state residents), Medicare fee-for-service (around 3.5  million state residents), Medi-Cal fee-for-service (over 1  million state residents), or are uninsured (between 2  million and 3  million state residents).
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4426

COVID-19: American Rescue Plan’s Major Health-Related Funding Provisions [Publication Details]

May 6, 2021 - This post highlights the health-related provisions of the ARP Act that provide significant funding directly to state/local health care and public health agencies, rural hospitals, home- and community-based services programs, subsidized individual market health coverage programs, and public behavioral health services.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Detail/4425

COVID-19: American Rescue Plan’s Major Health-Related Funding Provisions

May 6, 2021 - Opting in would bring new state (as well as federal) costs of an unknown amount. However, a portion of any new state costs likely would be offset by state savings from the federal government beginning to share in the cost of the extended postpartum coverage that the state currently offers to women with mental health conditions.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4425

Estimated Cost of Expanding Full-Scope Medi-Cal Coverage to All Otherwise-Eligible Californians Regardless of Immigration Status

May 5, 2021 - We did not take into account the fiscal impact of any change in other state and local health care programs that might occur due to this coverage expansion. For example, our caseload estimate generally assumes no major changes in the overall size of the state ’s undocumented population.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4423

Enhancing Federal Financial Participation for Consumers Served by the Department of Developmental Services—An Interim Update

Apr 19, 2021 - (The state also operates a 100  percent state-funded Medi-Cal program for certain individuals who are not eligible for the federally funded program due to immigration status.) If a consumer is not eligible for federally matched Medi-Cal, the state funds the total cost of RC-coordinated services.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4415

The 2021-22 Budget: Assessment of CalHEERS Dashboard

Mar 25, 2021 - (SAWS is made up of multiple IT systems which support such functions as eligibility and benefit determination, enrollment, and case maintenance at the county level for some of the state ’s major health and human services  programs.)
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4408

The 2021-22 Budget: CalAIM: New Directions for Services for Seniors and Persons With Disabilities

Mar 15, 2021 - What can the state do to address potential challenges? What additional requirements should the state impose on D ‑SNPs to ensure they provide an adequate level of integration between Medi ‑Cal and Medicare?
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4404

The 2021-22 Budget: CalAIM: Equity Considerations

Mar 12, 2021 - Federal law requires the state to allow Medi ‑Cal managed care plans to choose whether —and which —ILOS benefits to offer. If managed care plans do not widely opt to provide ILOS benefits, the availability of these new services could be more limited in scope than the state ultimately desires.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4402