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

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

Feb 5, 2025 - Background on Selected Behavioral Health Facilities The Behavioral Health Continuum Infrastr ucture Program has provided grants to build over 20 different types of behavioral health facilities. Here we provide background information on the facility types that represent the bulk of added capacity.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4954

The 2026-27 Budget: Medi-Cal Analysis

Mar 2, 2026 - One possible reason for our higher estimate is that our model reflects not only disenrollment among current enrollees, but also reduced enrollment flows over time and a persistent risk of disenrollment among eligible individuals due to added administrative burden.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5146

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

Aug 17, 2023 - Grant recipients would be required to operate the facilities and units added by the bond for at least 30 years. The proposal is silent on the types of entities that would be eligible to receive grants.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4790

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

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

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

Mar 6, 2025 - In the paragraphs that follow, we provide our analysis that results in ou r estimate of at least 165,000 seniors being added due to eligibility expansions since 2020. (As a consequence of this estimate, it follows naturally that we estimate up to 60,000  seniors being added due to the effects of continuous coverage, the unwinding, and unwinding flexibilities, for a total increase of 225,000 seniors due to policy changes.)
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5010

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

Mar 6, 2025 - The difficulty MCPs have in adding ECM and Community Supports providers may be keeping utilization rates lower than expected. Systemic Constraints Limit Utilization. Lower ‑than ‑expected utilization of certain benefits may be driven more by systemic constraints across different regions of the state rather than a low demand for those benefits.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5003

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

Nov 9, 2021 - Based on the current cost of an RC specialist ‑type employee, adding one or two specialists in each of the state ’s 21 RCs would cost approximately $ 2 m illion to $ 5 m illion. Medicaid reimbursements would cover some of the costs of these additional county and RC staff.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4471

The 2025-26 Budget: Medi-Cal Pharmacy Spending

Apr 3, 2025 - Under these formulas, a dru g ’s initial rebate is between 13  percent and 23  percent of its price, depending on the type of drug. Over time, the initial rebate increases if the drug ’s price rises faster than inflation.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5026