This week, the California Department of Finance (DOF) released its March 2021 fiscal update on COVID-19 direct response expenditures. The report provides expenditure assumptions and cost estimates as of this month compared to the Governor’s 2021-22 Budget estimate released in January. DOF estimates the state’s combined total costs for its COVID-19 response across fiscal years…
Read More »This week, the Assembly convened hearings related to health coverage, Medi-Cal, and behavioral health. Below, we provide a high-level summary of these hearings of interest: Budget Subcommittee No. 1 Considers Health-Related Investments The Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 1 on Health and Human Services (HHS) on Monday convened a hearing to review proposed investments under the…
Read More »Today, Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law AB 86, a $6.6 billion budget package that aims to accelerate the safe return to in-person instruction statewide and support schools in expanding academic, mental health, and social-emotional supports. Earlier in the week, the Governor, Senate President pro Tempore Toni Atkins, and Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon announced at…
Read More »Today, the Senate Budget & Fiscal Review Subcommittee No. 3 on Health and Human Services convened a hearing to review a series of budget proposals that augment or modify the Governor’s January Budget Proposal. The Subcommittee received a high-level presentation of various budget investments in the California Health and Human Services (CHHS) Agency, Department of…
Read More »Legislative activities in Sacramento continue to ramp up following last Friday’s deadline for lawmakers to introduce legislative bills in their respective houses. The Assembly introduced nearly 1,600 bills and the Senate introduced over 800 bills that will be considered by the Legislature over the coming months. In other related news, Governor Gavin Newsom on Tuesday…
Read More »This week, the California State Assembly and Senate held a number of hearings spanning a wide array of subject areas, including COVID-19, homelessness, telehealth, and proposed budget investments. Below, we provide a high-level overview of hearings held this week: Assembly Examines Telehealth Policy in California Post-Pandemic The Assembly Health Committee on Tuesday convened an informational…
Read More »This week, the Department of Finance (DOF) notified legislative budget leaders of the Newsom Administration’s intent to extend use of the state’s Disaster Response-Emergency Operations Account (DREOA) for COVID-19-related emergency operations costs for an additional 120 days. In a memo to the legislature, the DOF highlights the Newsom Administration’s ongoing response efforts to the pandemic,…
Read More »This week, Governor Gavin Newsom, Senate President pro Tempore Toni Atkins, and Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon announced an agreement on a package of immediate actions to provide relief to residents, families, and businesses experiencing hardship during the COVID-19 pandemic. The agreement reflects a compromise on initiatives proposed in the Governor’s January Budget to provide cash…
Read More »The Senate Budget & Fiscal Review Subcommittee No. 3 on Health and Human Services today convened a hearing to examine proposed budget investments under the jurisdiction of the California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS). Today’s hearing included presentations from DHCS Director Will Lightbourne and State Medicaid Director Jacey Cooper, representatives from the Department of…
Read More »This week, the California Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) released an analysis on the state’s Medi-Cal budget for 2020-21 and 2021-22, as well as an analysis of California Advancing and Innovating Medi-Cal (CalAIM) financing issues. Brief summaries of these reports are provided below: Medi-Cal Budget Analysis The LAO’s analysis assesses major adjustments to the Medi-Cal budget…
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