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

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

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

Feb 5, 2025 - The study was funded by the California Mental Health Services Authority, a county‑level joint powers authority, to assess both the capacity and unmet needs of this key component of the public behavioral health system.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4954

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

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

Climate Change Impacts Across California - Health

Apr 5, 2022 - While communities near fire ‑prone areas also will experience more significant impacts from wildfire smoke and loss of power during Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) events, these indirect effects also can impact other regions of the state (as well as other states).
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4580

The 2025-26 Budget: Medi-Cal Pharmacy Spending

Apr 3, 2025 - As   Figure  5 shows, at the start of 2018, antipsychotics (drugs that treat certain mental health conditions) and insulin (drugs that help regulate blood sugar for diabetics) represented around one ‑quarter of gross spending.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5026

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

Jul 13, 2023 - Generally speaking, a revenue source with an AD of 10  percentage points over a given time period would be twice as volatile as a revenue source with an AD of 5  percentage points. See “Measuring Volatility ” in our February 2017 report, Volatility of the Personal Income Tax Base , for a detailed description and hypothetical calculation of AD.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4780

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

The 2026-27 Budget: Medi-Cal Fiscal Outlook

Nov 19, 2025 - Our understanding is that California ’s hospital fee, which is pending federal approval for 2025, is at around 5  percent. This means that the state will need to gradually reduce the hospital fee in the future to comply with the new limit.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5092