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 California Spending Plan: Health

Oct 16, 2025 - To support the fund, the legislation allocates a portion of money from excess balances in health plans ’ special abortion accounts. Health plans that participate in Covered California must use these accounts so that federal subsidies do not pay for abortion services.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5075

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

Oct 24, 2025 - In July 2025, Congress passed and the President signed H.R. 1 —titled the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. This legislation includes about $1  trillion in federal Medicaid reductions over ten years, representing the most significant changes to federal Medicaid policy since the ACA.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5083

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 2026-27 Budget: Medi-Cal Fiscal Outlook

Nov 19, 2025 - Pursuant to state law, most of the decline in revenue will affect supplemental payments to private hospitals, with only a portion (around 25  percent) resulting in less money for existing Medi ‑Cal costs.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5092

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

Mar 6, 2025 - As shown earlier in Figure  5, the percent of MCP members statewide utilizing the ECM benefit was 0.6  percent in 2022, rising to 0.9  percent in 2024. Of particular note, only about one ‑fifth of all MCP members that identified as homeless —a key POF —were receiving ECM services in 2023 (about 0.3  percent of all Medi ‑Cal managed care members).
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 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 2021-22 Spending Plan: Health

Oct 22, 2021 - The spending plan includes $10  million General Fund in 2021 ‑22 and $750,000 in 2022 ‑23 and ongoing to establish a statewide electronic registry for POLST. The POLST is a written medical order signed by a patient who is seriously ill and their doctor specifying the treatments the patient would like to receive; the POLST must be honored by other licensed medical personnel.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4465

Mental Health Services Act: Revenue Volatility and the Governor’s Proposal to Reduce Allowable County Reserves

Jul 13, 2023 - Up to 5  Percent of Revenue Available for State Purposes. The MHSA allows up to 5  percent of overall revenues to be used for state administration of MHSA. The 5  percent is often referred to as the “state cap. ” Under current legislative practice, funding within the state cap that is not needed for direct MHSA administration is available for the Legislature to appropriate to various mental health programs.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4780