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

The 2025-26 California Spending Plan: Health

Oct 16, 2025 - Because the General Fund would have otherwise covered these costs, the spending plan also scores these amounts as budget solutions. Prescription Drugs Eliminates Coverage of Certain Drugs. The spending plan ends coverage of certain optional pharmacy benefits in Medi-Cal, beginning January 2026.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5075

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

COVID-19: American Rescue Plan’s Major Health-Related Funding Provisions

May 6, 2021 - While the federal government has announced other efforts to expand and support testing activities with ARP Act funding, such as providing $2.25  billion nationwide to address COVID-19-related health inequities among communities of color and among people living in rural areas, further CDC allocations from the ARP Act to states for testing, contact tracing, mitigation, and laboratory capacity await future announcement from CDC.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4425

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

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 2021-22 Budget: Overview of the Governor's Budget

Jan 10, 2021 - This would allow time for schools to ramp up testing capabilities an d address other implementation issues with a smaller group of students and staff. Alternatively, the Legislature could direct resources to expanding statewide testing capacity and infrastructure that would allow schools to more easily access routine testing as a way to support school reopening.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4309

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

The 2021-22 Budget: California Department of Public Health's COVID‑19 Response [Publication Details]

Feb 5, 2021 - This publication describes how coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) spending is reflected in the California Department of Public Health’s budget.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Detail/4347