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June 20, 2018 - Presented to: Assembly Committee on Labor and Employment Senate Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations
May 31, 2018 - To be presented to: Budget Conference Committee
May 31, 2018 - To be presented to: Budget Conference Committee
May 31, 2018 - To be present to: Budget Conference Committee
May 31, 2018 - To be present to: 2018-19 Budget Conference Committee
May 22, 2018 - This post describes the Proposition 55 calculation for Medi-Cal spending in the Governor’s May Revision.
May 17, 2018 - The Governor’s 2018 19 May Revision proposes a package of actions and funding augmentations aimed at alleviating homelessness. Several of the major elements of the proposal are in the HHS area of the budget. Specifically, the proposals would: (1) create the Senior Home Safe program at the Department of Social Services (DSS), (2) augment the current California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) Housing Support Program and CalWORKs Homeless Assistance Program at DSS, and (3) provide one-time funding to the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) for county mental health services. In this post, we describe these proposals and raise issues and questions for the Legislature to consider.
May 15, 2018 - Presented to Assembly Health Committee and Senate Health Committee
May 15, 2018 - Presented to Assembly Health Committee and Senate Health Committee
May 14, 2018 - In this post, we describe and provide our initial comments on adjustments to the Medi-Cal budget in the 2018-19 May Revision.
May 10, 2018 - This post responds to several requests for our office to estimate the cost of providing full-scope Medi-Cal coverage to undocumented adults over the age of 19 who are currently eligible for restricted-scope Medi-Cal coverage (that is, primarily emergency and pregnancy-related services). Based on a number of key assumptions, we estimate the total net state cost of this coverage expansion is approximately $3 billion in 2018-19. This net cost would be fully a state cost, and represents the change between the cost of providing full-scope Medi-Cal and the costs of providing restricted-scope Medi-Cal to the undocumented adult population.
April 27, 2018 - In this post, we provide background on new staffing requirements for certified nursing assistants working in skilled nursing facilities, describe the Governor’s proposals to address these new staffing requirements, assess those proposals, and make associated recommendations.
March 21, 2018 - This budget brief analyzes the Governor’s 2018-19 budget proposal to eliminate the use of the 340B Drug Pricing Program in Medi-Cal. The Governor’s proposed statutory changes are intended to generate state savings and reduce the administrative complexity of complying with federal law on duplicate discounts when 340B prescriptions drugs are dispensed to Medi-Cal enrollees. We find that the Governor’s proposal merits serious consideration from the Legislature since, among other benefits, it would likely result in state savings that the Legislature could, in turn, use to fund its priorities. We note, however, that these savings would be in place of savings currently enjoyed by eligible healthcare providers. Before making a decision on the Governor’s proposal, we recommend that the Legislature ask the administration to provide the following key information on the Governor’s proposal: (1) the amount of Medi-Cal savings that would be generated, (2) the impact on healthcare providers currently participating in the 340B Program, and (3) the trade-offs of alternative policy approaches to addressing the challenges that are present due to the use of the 340B Program in Medi-Cal.
March 19, 2018 - In this post, we first provide background on the reimbursement rate used for certain child care providers. We then describe and assess the Governor’s related hold harmless provision and end by making associated recommendations.