The 2025-26 Budget: Medi-Cal Pharmacy Spending

Apr 3, 2025 - These drugs do not come with rebates, because federally require d price reductions already occurred at the front end when the pharmacy purchased the drugs. Federal guidance also directs states to exclude claims that do not come with a federal share of cost.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5026

The 2025-26 California Spending Plan: Health

Oct 16, 2025 - The database, created as part of the 2018-19 budget, includes data from most health care payors in California (including private insurance, Medi-Cal, and Medicare) around health care utilization and costs.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5075

The 2026-27 Budget: Department of Developmental Services

Mar 13, 2026 - The department has stated that its goal is to have as many providers as possible earn the quality payments, but it has not yet discussed how it might approach circumstances in which providers do not achieve them.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5157

The 2021-22 Budget: Behavioral Health: Community Care Demonstration Project

Feb 19, 2021 - There is significant variation by county in the rate of felony IST referrals for competency restoration, as shown in figure  2 in 2018 ‑19. (We use 2018 ‑19 data because this is the most recent full year of data that precedes any pandemic ‑related changes to the process of referring felony ISTs to treatment.)
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4382

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

Jul 13, 2023 - Legislature Set Caps on Reserves in 2018. Chapter  328 of 2018 (SB  192, Beall), caps the allowable cumulative balance of county prudent reserves at 33  percent of the average CSS revenue the county received in the prior five fiscal years.
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 - Strategies to do so have included expanding the behavioral health workforce; adding benefits and increasing rates in Medi ‑Cal; and increasing capacity through managed care plans, schools, and in other  settings.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4954

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

Aug 17, 2023 - The Veterans and Affordable Housing Bond Act of 2018. The Veterans and Affordable Housing Bond Act of 2018 (Proposition  1) authorized $4  billion in general obligation bonds for various housing programs.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4790

The 2026-27 Budget: Medi-Cal Analysis

Mar 2, 2026 - Although H.R. 1 does not require states to apply the community engagement requirement and six ‑month renewals to adults with UIS (whose Medi ‑Cal full scope coverage is entirely state ‑funded), the administration proposes to do so.  
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5146

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

May 17, 2021 - The state is permitted to use the fiscal relief funds: (1)  to respond to the public health emergency or negative economic impacts associated with the emergency; (2)  to support essential work; (3)  to backfill a reduction in revenue that has occurred since 2018 ‑19; or (4)  for water, sewer, or broadband infrastructure.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4432

The 2023-24 Budget: Whole Child Model Expansion

May 5, 2023 - By contrast, the model changes in the three Single-Plan model counties ( Alameda, Contra Costa, and Imperial) do not create this complexity, as the affected managed care plans currently do not administer the Whole Child Model.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4767