This is archived content, for historical reference only.

Medi-Cal, California’s Medicaid program, is the main source of health care insurance for 6.8 million people, or one in six Californians. During the 2008–9 fiscal year, it drew $27 billion in federal funds into the state’s health care system and accounted for 19 percent of General Fund spending.

Medi-Cal is a complex program that pays providers for essential primary, acute, and long-term care services delivered to a wide range of beneficiaries, including children, their parents, seniors, and nonelderly adults with disabilities. Because it is the single largest source of health insurance coverage in the state and a major source of funding for safety-net providers, a thorough grasp of Medi-Cal is essential to understanding how health care is financed and delivered in California. For all its success, Medi-Cal faces numerous challenges, including enrollment barriers, low rates of participation among physicians, and rising health care costs.

The full report is available for download below. The report is part of CHCF’s California Health Care Almanac, an online clearinghouse for key data and analyses describing the state’s health care landscape. See our collection of current and past editions of Medi-Cal Facts and Figures.