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

Mar 6, 2025 - Figure  10 shows the average number of Medi ‑Cal enrollees over 65 who are enrolled in Medi ‑Cal for the first time in their lives in four selected time periods —before the continuous coverage period, during continuous coverage but before the asset test phase out, the asset test phase ‑out period, and finally after elimination of the asset test.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5010

An Update on the Public Health Laboratory System After the Pandemic

Jun 12, 2025 - These laboratory branches include specializations such as food and drug testing, environmental health testing, genetic testing, and infectious disease testing and surveillance. The state public health laboratory acts as the reference laboratory for the state, and as such, provides more complex testing services needed to further characterize pathogens identified at the local level.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5056

A Long-Term Outlook: Disability Among California’s Seniors

Nov 28, 2016 - Seniors turning 65 between 2015 and 2019 who have greater than a high school education spend fewer years on average with one or more ADL limitations than seniors with a high school degree or GED credential and seniors with less than a high school education (4.2 years vs. 4.8 years and 5.8  years, respectively).
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/3509

The 2022-23 California Spending Plan: Health

Oct 24, 2022 - COVID-19 Testing in Schools. The spending plan includes $200  million General Fund in 2021-22 for the state to directly purchase COVID-19 tests for schools and $102  million General Fund ($405  million total funds) in 2022-23 for schools to bill Medi-Cal for COVID-19 testing.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4642

The 2026-27 Budget: Department of Developmental Services

Mar 13, 2026 - RCs are responsible for providing assessments and diagnoses to determine eligibility; this process can include a review of an applicant ’s records as well as tests performed by doctors and/or psychologists.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5157

The 2025-26 California Spending Plan: Health

Oct 16, 2025 - Reinstates an Asset Test. The spending plan reinstates the verification of assets, commonly referred to as an asset test, to determine Medi-Cal eligibility for seniors and persons with disabilities. Under the spending plan, seniors and persons with disabilities will need to verify that their countable assets do not exceed $130,000 per individual and $195,000 per couple.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5075

COVID-19: Federal Health-Related Response

Mar 23, 2020 - Specifically, the CARES Act: Broadens requirement that private health insurers cover COVID-19 testing, with no cost sharing, to include tests that have requested emergency use approval from the Food and Drug Administration, tests developed by states, and any other tests the U.S.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4209

The 2023-24 California Spending Plan: Health

Oct 23, 2023 - The department will use the funding for testing, support for the department ’s COVID-19 website and public information campaign, and incentives for vaccinations for children. Funds Disease Data Systems Maintenance.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4810

The 2025-26 Budget: Medi-Cal Fiscal Outlook

Nov 20, 2024 - We assume that the key driver of this caseload surge is the recent (January 1, 2024) full elimination of the asset limit test. (In addition to specific income limits, prior to July 2022, seniors and persons with disabilities faced strict asset limits for eligibility.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4941

The 2026-27 Budget: Medi-Cal Analysis

Mar 2, 2026 - Other solutions included partially restoring the asset test for seniors and persons with disabilities, ending coverage of anti ‑obesity drugs, and ending supplemental payments for dental services in Medi ‑Cal.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5146