The 2025-26 Budget: Overview of the Governor's Budget

Jan 13, 2025 - The reason for the reduction is the recent voter approval of Proposition  35 (2024), which requires the state to spend less MCO tax money on offsetting General Fund spending and more money on provider rate increases.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4951

The 2025-26 Budget: Medi-Cal Fiscal Outlook

Nov 20, 2024 - This is because the measure requires the state to use more MCO tax money to increase Medi-Cal services, rather than to offset General Fund spending. The exact fiscal impact depends on how the state implements the measure ’s complex rules.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4941

The 2025-26 Budget: Medi-Cal Pharmacy Spending

Apr 3, 2025 - In 2023 ‑24, we estimate these rebates comprised 3  percent of gross spending, up from as low as 1  percent in some years. This increase was expected following the switch to the Medi ‑Cal Rx system in 2022.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5026

The 2025-26 Budget: CalAIM Enhanced Care Management and Community Supports Implementation Update

Mar 6, 2025 - As discussed above, DHCS had estimated that between 3  percent and 5  percent of Medi ‑Cal MCP members were eligible for the ECM benefit. While the ECM benefit is intentionally targeted at a small subset of the overall Medi ‑Cal population, the take up appears to be between about one ‑third and one ‑quarter of those eligible for services.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5003

The 2025-26 Budget: Understanding Recent Increases in the Medi-Cal Senior Caseload

Mar 6, 2025 - Largely as a result of these policies, Medi ‑Cal caseload increased by over 3  million enrollees (25  percent) between March  2020 and June 2023, as shown in Figure  5 . Counties resumed eligibility processing in April 2023, which resulted in overall Medi ‑Cal caseload beginning to decline starting in July 2023.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5010

The 2024-25 Budget: The MCO Tax Package at May Revision

May 22, 2024 - These augmentations were expected to cost $2.7  billion MCO tax funds at full implementation (when the tax was estimated at the time to raise between $5  billion and $5.4  billion annually in net revenue).
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4905

An Update on the Public Health Laboratory System After the Pandemic

Jun 12, 2025 - CDPH receives $92  million to support six foundational spending areas, including 25 positions in CLS, and is responsible for providing coordination, planning, and technical assistance to LHJs as they build up their infrastructure.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5056

The 2025-26 Budget: MCO Tax and Proposition 35

Feb 26, 2025 - This is because the augmentations were scheduled to ramp up in 2025 and 2026, requiring a larger share of MCO tax funds. Under Proposition  35, the cost of this backfill is even higher, as even more MCO tax funding must be allocated toward augmentations.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4992

COVID-19: Federal Health-Related Response

Mar 23, 2020 - Up to $1  Billion Nationwide for COVID-19 Testing for the Uninsured. Up to $1  billion will be distributed nationwide for COVID-19 testing for the uninsured (as defined under FFCRA). The amount of this funding that would be allocated to California is unknown.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4209

The 2025-26 Budget: Health Care Access and Information

Feb 20, 2025 - As Figure  5 shows, however, as measured by the consumer price index, prescription drug cost inflation has slowed over the past 50 years. While drug inflation has tended to exceed overall inflation, this trend reversed in the last few years.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4979