The 2025-26 California Spending Plan: Health

Oct 16, 2025 - Promotes Higher Drug Rebates. This year ’s spending plan also aims to increase drug rebates (which serve to create General Fund savings) in a number of ways. Most notably, the administration plans to contract with a pharmacy rebate aggregator to negotiate rebates with manufacturers on drugs provided to UIS members.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5075

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

Oct 24, 2025 - The state also could structure copays in ways that promote high ‑value care, such as by adopting higher charges for less medically necessary services. These decision points will affect the impact on utilization and associated savings.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5083

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

Mar 6, 2025 - As plans, providers, and members have learned more about the benefit and DHCS made changes to policies to improve access to the benefit, utilization has increased. Community Supports utilization overall has steadily grown over the course of the demonstration.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5003

The 2021-22 Budget: CalAIM: Equity Considerations

Mar 12, 2021 - Evaluation and Oversight Issues Unclear How Progress in Improving Equity Would Be Measured and Evaluated. By improving health outcomes for many of the state ’s highest ‑risk, highest ‑need residents, CalAIM is intended to promote health equity.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4402

The 2019-20 Budget: Overview of the Governor's Budget

Jan 14, 2019 - Additionally, the Governor ’s budget includes a total of $ 500  m illion for improvements to early education ($ 245  m illion for facilities, $ 245  m illion for the child care workforce, and $ 10  m illion for a comprehensive plan to improve access and quality).
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/3916

The 2022-23 Budget: Health Care Access and Affordability

Feb 23, 2022 - These revisions include, for example, (1)  changes to the size of the internal board (from 11 members in last year ’s proposal to 8 members in the current proposal), (2)  the addition of authority for the affordability board —rather than the HCAI director —to approve health care cost targets, (3)  the addition of certain conditions under which cost targets could
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4560

Enhancing Federal Financial Participation for Consumers Served by the Department of Developmental Services

Nov 9, 2021 - Providing more education and improved materials about Medi ‑Cal and the related Medicaid waiver program administered by DDS, such as by changing confusing terminology, translating forms currently provided only in English, hosting educational events, or improving training of RC staff.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4471

Impact of COVID-19 on Health Care Access

May 7, 2021 - For example, we continue to lack information on which health care providers have faced the greatest financial challenges under the pandemic and, accordingly, where provider financial relief from the state could go the farthest in maintaining access to care.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4426

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

Apr 19, 2021 - It requires us to provide options to address these barriers with the ultimate goal of increasing federal financial participation (FFP) for regional center (RC)-coordinated services. Our evaluation may consider opportunities for streamlining the enrol lment process and educating consumers and their families/representatives about Medi-Cal programs.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4415

An Update on the Public Health Laboratory System After the Pandemic

Jun 12, 2025 - While LHJs are responsible for many of the public health services directly received by Californians, CDPH focuses primarily on po pulation-wide public health initiatives such as education campaigns or coordinating statewide disease outbreak responses.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5056