The 2026-27 Budget: Medi-Cal Analysis

Mar 2, 2026 - The caseload estimate is developed by identifying current enrollees subject to the requirement, removing those expected to be exempt or compliant, and then assuming that half of those remaining would be disenrolled due to noncompliance.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5146

The 2026-27 Budget: Department of Developmental Services

Mar 13, 2026 - The department stated that its budget projections for 2026 ‑27 do not incorporate any potential added costs due to the changes in H.R 1. Will the department be able to determine whether its costs increase in the future due to H.R. 1?
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5157

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

Oct 24, 2025 - …But Potentially With Added Complexity. Adding more flexibilities also could come with the potential downside of more complexity for beneficiaries and counties. For example, exempting high unemployment counties from work requirements could create more volatility.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5083

Mental Health Services Act: Proposed Change in Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission’s Role

Jul 13, 2023 - The Governor ’s overall proposal would make major changes to how counties allocate MHSA revenues, shifting the focus of county spending to two specific categories: Full-Service Partnerships (FSPs) and Housing Interventions.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4781

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

Mar 6, 2025 - Based on our review of the legislative history, the elimination of the asset test was meant to remove a barrier to enrollment, encourage continuity of coverage, and make eligibility determinations between MAGI and non ‑MAGI populations more equitable, among other goals.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5010

Mental Health Services Act: Impact of Governor's Proposal on Funding for Children and Youth

Aug 10, 2023 - As discussed above, adding a funding requirement to the FSP category may increase funding for an effective approach to providing children and youth mental health services with a limited impact on current service levels.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4786

Mental Health Services Act: Proposed Bond to Fund Behavioral Health Facilities and Veterans Housing

Aug 17, 2023 - The administration has indicated that the BHCIP is intended to ad dress the shortage in acute beds. The Legislature may wish to request more detail from the administration on how it plans to address the acute bed shortage.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4790

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

Jul 13, 2023 - One way to measure the variability in a data series is average deviation (AD). AD summarizes —for a given time period —how many percentage points the data in a series deviate from the average growth rate.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4780

Building California’s Behavioral Health Infrastructure: Progress Update and Opportunities for the Proposition 1 Bond

Feb 5, 2025 - Proposition  1 (2024) changed how revenue from the BHSA is spent by the state and counties. The BHSA requires that up to 3  percent of annual revenue (up to about $100  million) is spent on statewide behavioral health workforce initiatives administered by HCAI.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4954

The 2025-26 California Spending Plan: Health

Oct 16, 2025 - For example, DHCS plans to end an existing policy providing automatic coverage of drugs for existing users when the drugs are removed from Medi-Cal ’s contract drug list. Moving forward, users will need to receive prior authorization to continue using the drugs.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5075