The 2025-26 Budget: Understanding Recent Increases in the Medi-Cal Senior Caseload [Publication Details]

Mar 6, 2025 - The senior caseload in Medi-Cal has grown about 40 percent since the COVID-19 pandemic. This brief explores the causes of this growth and raises issues we think merit legislative oversight.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Detail/5010

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 Budget: CWS-CARES

Mar 5, 2025 - (Four of the six milestones are now expected to be tested in EUST 2, and the remaining two milestones are expected to be tested in EUST 3.) During the four-week EUST session, participants identified a significant amount of required rework prior to implementation of the three (and several other related) milestones.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5006

The 2025-26 Budget: Department of Justice

Feb 19, 2025 - In contrast, counties and cities that use their own resources to support their labs —or those that decide they want to pay a private laboratory for testing —have a greater incentive to carefully prioritize what evidence should be tested and how quickly it should be done.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4972

Changes in California State University General Fund Spending [EdBudget]

Jan 27, 2025 - After accounting for increases provided the previous four years, ongoing funding for this purpose has been raised by $846,000 over the baseline 2020-21 level. c Budget proposes $345,000 ongoing General Fund to support the costs of recently chaptered legislation that requires CSU to provide drug testing devices at every on-campus health center.
https://lao.ca.gov/Education/EdBudget/Details/915

The 2025-26 Budget: Educator Workforce

Mar 7, 2025 - Various studies suggest that math and literacy coaches can improve student test scores if experienced coaches are placed in the lowest ‑performing schools. For example, a 2010  study from the RAND Corporation found that literacy coaches placed in Florida middle schools improved student reading test scores for some students, with the greatest impacts being among the lowest ‑performing schools where coaching was implemented for a number of years.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5012

Rethinking California's Reserve Policy

Apr 10, 2025 - That is, we aim to construct a reserve policy that has the best chance of withstanding the test of time and minimizes the need for the Legislature to ask voters to make further changes to the Constitution in a few years.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5028

The 2025-26 Budget: Overview of the Federal CalWORKs Pilot

Feb 21, 2025 - California was recently selected as one of five states to participate in a federal, six-year pilot to test new Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program performance metrics focused on long-term employment and family well-being.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4978

The 2025-26 Budget: Health Care Access and Information

Feb 20, 2025 - HCAI also indicates that it has reviewed data from the partner on initial tests and studies. Moreover, the partner an d HCAI are engaging with wholesalers and patients to determine distribution. As of our analysis, however, HCAI indicated that it could not provide an estimated time line to receive federal approval to sell  the product.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4979

The 2025-26 Budget: Undertaking Fiscal Oversight

Feb 24, 2025 - For instance, California Advancing and Innovating Medi-Cal, a recent initiative to test new ways of delivering services, could be a focus of Medi -Cal oversight. Focusing on key elements of larger programs can provide the Legislature more detailed and practicable insight into program dynamics.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4983