The 2026-27 Budget: Department of Developmental Services

Mar 13, 2026 - In light of projected structural budget deficits, we recommend that the Legislature closely examine General Fund spending across the budget, including in DDS. We provide this information to help inform the Legislature ’s deliberations and conversations about its budget priorities over the coming months and years.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5157

The 2026-27 Budget: Medi-Cal Fiscal Outlook

Nov 19, 2025 - That said, we are not aware of research that has examined the impacts of premium changes specifically on the undocumented population. This population could be particularly sensitive to higher costs, yielding larger exits than suggested by available research.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5092

The 2025-26 Budget: Health Care Access and Information

Feb 20, 2025 - According to HCAI, a forthcoming report to the Legislature will further examine the feasibility of the state engaging more directly in drug manufacturing. With  key implementation details of the insulin initiative still uncertain, the Legislature likely will want to work with HCAI to better understand the continued need for these funds.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4979

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

Feb 5, 2025 - The report examines the statewide capacity to provide behavioral health services across the full spectrum of behavioral health care. Based on data from SAMHSA, DHCS estimated that over 600 facilities provide outpatient mental health services and nearly 800 facilities provide SUD services.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4954

The 2021-22 Budget: Analysis of the Governor’s Medi-Cal Telehealth Proposal

May 13, 2021 - Studies examining the clinical effectiveness of telehealth generally focus on specific health care service types. (For example, one study we reviewed examined the impact of infectious disease consultations through telehealth on hospital lengths of stay.)
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4430

The 2023-24 Budget: Whole Child Model Expansion

May 5, 2023 - The scope of the evaluation did not include examining per-enrollee cost or overall cost-effectiveness of the Whole Child Model relative to traditional CCS. To date, we are unaware of an analysis that examines cost effectiveness in the Whole Child Model —meaning that the Legislature does not know whether the Whole Child Model is more or less cost-effective than traditional CCS.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4767

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

Nov 9, 2021 - Examines Medi-Cal enrollment of Department of Developmental Services (DDS) consumers and the fiscal effect that additional Medi-Cal enrollment would have on the DDS budget and on state costs overall. Correction 11/19/21: Corrected average annual per person fee-for-service cost in Medi-Cal.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4471

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

Aug 17, 2023 - The report examines the statewide capacity to provide behavioral health services across the full spectrum of behavioral health care. Based on data from the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, DHCS estimated that over 600 facilities provide outpatient mental health services and nearly 800 facilities provide substance use disorder services.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4790

The 2023-24 Budget: Analysis of the Medi-Cal Budget

Feb 10, 2023 - Using more recent information, such as enrollment data through September 2022, we examined the administration ’s caseload projections and associated costs. We find that the administration ’s assumed overall level of caseload in 2022 ‑23 generally to be reasonable.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4675

The 2022-23 Budget: Public Health Foundational Support

Feb 16, 2022 - The administration lived up to its commitment to examine the future of public health, producing a memo with its findings and recommendations and developing the associated spending plan proposal. Below, we discuss the merits of the proposal and identify a few issues, which, if addressed, we believe would strengthen the plan.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4544