The 2025-26 California Spending Plan: Health

Oct 16, 2025 - Under the spending plan, General Fund spending for the Department of State Hospitals (DSH) is $2.9  billion in 2025-26, a decrease of $166  million (about 6  percent) from the revised 2024-25 expenditure estimate.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5075

The 2026-27 Budget: Medi-Cal Fiscal Outlook

Nov 19, 2025 - The second is an increase in the frequency of required eligibility determinations from every 12 months to every 6 months. Both changes likely will notably reduce the number of childless adults enrolled in Medi ‑Cal.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5092

Considering Medi-Cal in the Midst of a Changing Fiscal and Policy Landscape

Oct 24, 2025 - The current limit —set at 6  percent of a taxed provider group ’s overall net patient revenue —is intended to prevent states from adopting very large taxes and imposing high costs on the federal government.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5083

The 2025-26 Budget: MCO Tax and Proposition 35

Feb 26, 2025 - Figure 6 Legislature Faces Two Key Sets of Oversight Issues Implementation of Augmentations When will the department begin implementing augmentations? How will the department structure the augmentations?
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4992

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

Mar 6, 2025 - Figure  6 shows the cumulative percentage change for each category of Medi ‑Cal enrollees from April 2020 (when the continuous coverage period began) through December 2024 (a year and a half after the beginning of the unwinding of the continuous coverage requirement).
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5010

The 2025-26 Budget: Health Care Access and Information

Feb 20, 2025 - As   Figure  6 shows, while brand drugs represented a small share of commercial health plan fee‑for‑service claims in 2021, they comprised a majority of spending. Costs also are higher for consumers, with average out‑of‑pocket costs more than four times the cost for brand drugs than generics.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4979

The 2025-26 Budget: Medi-Cal Pharmacy Spending

Apr 3, 2025 - As Figure  6 shows, generic versions have become a growing share of antipsychotic prescriptions. Because these generic drugs are notably less expensive than their brand counterparts, their increasing use has helped limit spending on antipsychotics, driving down their share of overall gross pharmacy spending in  Medi ‑Cal.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5026

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

May 22, 2024 - It also estimated that the tax revenue was nearly at the 6  percent federal limit —meaning that the tax could not be increased any further. Federal Government Signaled Intent to Change Rules for Approving Tax in the Future.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4905

The 2023-24 California Spending Plan: Health

Oct 23, 2023 - Figure 6 Health Care Workforce Budget Solutions at HCAI General Fund (In Millions)
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4810

The 2024-25 California Spending Plan: Health

Sep 17, 2024 - As Figure  6 shows, these reductions primarily affect one-time spending. Figure 6 General Fund Spending on HCAI Workforce Programs Appropriations (In Millions)
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4930