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

Oct 24, 2025 - Changes for Adults Affects Adults, Particularly Those Without Children, in a Number of Ways. Another key area of focus for H.R.  1 is adults enrolled in Medicaid, especially those without children. From a fiscal perspective, childless adults are among the most expensive population for the federal government because of the relatively high federal share of cost (90  percent).
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5083

The 2025-26 California Spending Plan: Health

Oct 16, 2025 - (These savings are distinct from state operations budget solutions enacted as part of the 2024-25 Budget Act , which directed DOF to identify efficiencies to reduce state costs without diminishing service levels.)
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5075

The 2026-27 Budget: Medi-Cal Fiscal Outlook

Nov 19, 2025 - In our outlook, the state budget solutions mostly save money by reducing per ‑enrollee costs. This is because, other than the asset limit reinstatement, the solutions generally are utilization management strategies, benefit reductions, and provider rate reductions —all ways to curtail spending without directly affecting caseload.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5092

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 2022-23 Budget: Analysis of the Care Economy Workforce Development Package

Mar 10, 2022 - Without this information, and without information on what additional number of care economy providers —by provider type —is necessary to fulfill statewide need, assessing what workforce gaps would be addressed by the proposed package and the extent to which particular workforce gaps would be filled is difficult.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4572

The 2022-23 Budget: Analysis of the Governor’s Major Behavioral Health Proposals

Mar 3, 2022 - As discussed earlier, the chronic stress of living without stable housing can lead an individual to develop a behavioral health disorder. In  turn, this can make it more difficult for an individual to escape homelessness as their behavioral health issues make it even more challenging to maintain housing stability.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4569

The 2021-22 Budget: LAO Preliminary Comments on the Governor’s Major May Revision Behavioral Health Proposals

May 24, 2021 - Furthermore, given that grant funding under the initiative is proposed to be provided one time, we find that whether grant recipients would be able to sustain services (after grant funds are exhausted) without additional funding from the state is unclear.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4439

The 2021-22 Budget: Behavioral Health: Continuum Infrastructure Funding Proposal

Feb 17, 2021 - Specifically, this proposal makes grant funding available for ( 1)  c risis stabilization and crisis residential facilities, which can also be funded through the augmentation for children and youth made to the Investment in Mental Health Wellness Act of 2013 Grant Program, and ( 2)  p ermanent supportive housing for individuals with mental health needs, which can also be funded through the NPLH program.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4379

The 2026-27 Budget: Department of Developmental Services

Mar 13, 2026 - The administration, led by DHCS, has stated that it intends to maximize the use of existing data sources to confirm continuing eligibility of Medi ‑Cal enrollees without burdening enrollees with paperwork.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5157

The 2021-22 Budget: Initial Comments on the Governor’s May Revision

May 17, 2021 - If the Legislature wants to make different decisions about this spending (without statutory changes or fund shifts), it can either: (1)  use the funds to make tax rebates and additional payments to schools, (2)  spend on other SAL-excluded purposes, or (3)  use the funds to reduce taxes.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4432