Medi-Cal - California Health Care Foundation

Medi-Cal
Medi-Cal is the state’s health insurance program for Californians with low incomes, including over 40% of all children, half of those with disabilities, over a million seniors, and one in five workers. CHCF reports provide data and analysis on how well Medi-Cal is serving Californians.

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Medi-Cal Explained

Medi-Cal is the foundation of California’s health care safety net and a major component of the state’s budget. The Medi-Cal Explained series provides an overview of the program, including the people it serves, the services it provides, and how it is organized, managed, and financed.

California Advancing and Innovating Medi-Cal: CalAIM

Launched in late 2019, CalAIM, or California Advancing and Innovating Medi-Cal, is a multiyear process led by the California Department of Health Care Services to improve the health outcomes and quality of life experienced by Medi-Cal patients.

How to Fulfill the Promise of Medi-Cal

January 22, 2020

Sandra R. Hernández

Medi-Cal, Payment & Financing, Behavioral Health

One of the most important steps California can take to live up to its social and economic potential is to improve the effectiveness of the enormously important Medi-Cal program.

Trump Public Charge Rule No Longer in Effect

On March 9, 2021 the Biden Administration stopped defending Trump-era public charge regulations against legal challenges and, the following week, formally withdrew the Trump regulation. As a result, the Trump Administration's public charge rule is no longer in effect. Immigrants and their families can seek medical care, including testing and treatment for COVID-19, without fearing immigration consequences due to public charge.

February 25, 2019

Briefing — Medi-Cal Explained: An Overview of Program Basics

February 25, 2019

This briefing provided an overview of the basics of the Medi-Cal program, including eligibility and enrollment, organization, oversight, and financing.

Improving Quality in Medi-Cal Managed Care

Medi-Cal, Payment & Financing

Everyone in Medi-Cal, regardless of where they live or their managed care plan, should have the same opportunity to get timely, high-quality care. But today access and quality of care varies widely within the Medi-Cal managed care system.

Explaining Medi-Cal

February 27, 2019

Kristof Stremikis

CHCF has launched Medi-Cal Explained, a project that will include papers and briefings describing how the nation’s largest Medicaid program organizes, finances, and provides care for Californians with low incomes.

Medi-Cal Facts and Figures — Almanac Collection

Coverage Trends, Medi-Cal

Medi-Cal is the state’s health insurance program for Californians with low incomes, including 40% of all children, half of all people with disabilities, and more than a million seniors. This collection of current and past editions of Medi-Cal Facts and Figures presents data on enrollment, benefits, financing, and access and use.

Expanding Medicaid Can Save Lives

August 12, 2019

Xenia Shih Bion

Stories That Caught Our Attention: A new study suggests that the Affordable Care Act's Medicaid expansion reduced death rates among older adults with low incomes.

Poll Shows Californians’ Health Priorities for New Governor and Legislature

Behavioral Health, Workforce, Medi-Cal

Access to mental health care is a top concern statewide.

What Matters Most to Californians

January 24, 2019

Kristof Stremikis

Medi-Cal, Behavioral Health, Workforce

A statewide poll reveals that Californians are deeply aware of the state's lack of mental health providers — and they're worried about how to pay for care.

Public Charge Rule Could Prompt Up to 455,000 California Kids Who Need Care to Leave Medi-Cal

November 15, 2018

Leah Zallman, Karen Finnegan

New research from the Institute for Community Health estimates that the Trump administration’s proposed changes to the public charge rule could prompt up to 455,000 California children in need of medical attention to leave Medi-Cal.

California Lawmakers Asked CHCF How to Improve Access to Care in Medi-Cal. Here’s What We Told Them.

February 8, 2018

Christopher Perrone

Medi-Cal, Telehealth

Chris Perrone, director of CHCF's Improving Access team, told the California Legislature how Medi-Cal expansion under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has affected access to care for people who rely on the program.

Medi-Cal: A Program and a Population That Work

January 16, 2018

Kristof Stremikis

Expanding Health Coverage, Medi-Cal

While the federal government has opened the door for states to impose work requirements on people who use Medicaid, data show that a vast majority of nondisabled recipients are already in working families.

How Would Tax Bills Affect Medicaid? Some Useful Resources

November 3, 2017

Medi-Cal, Payment & Financing

With tax legislation now at the top of the congressional agenda, CHCF has put together some useful resources that explain the profound impact the proposals could have on the health care system.

2017 Edition — Medi-Cal Facts and Figures

Medi-Cal, Coverage Trends

Medi-Cal is the main source of health insurance for one in three Californians. This quick reference guide provides an overview of the program's key features and describes how enrollment has grown from 2013 to 2017.

Data Show Medicaid Expansion Benefited Family Finances

November 17, 2017

Anne Sunderland

Health Care Costs, Medi-Cal

Researchers have found that the Affordable Care Act's Medicaid expansion is associated with declining medical debt, fewer personal bankruptcies, improved credit scores, and reduced reliance on predatory lending practices.

Establishing a Per Capita Cap in Medicaid: Implications for California

Expanding Health Coverage, Medi-Cal

With Congress proposing fundamental changes to the financing structure of Medicaid through creation of a per capita cap, Manatt Health examines the implications for Medi-Cal.

With Federal Medicaid Cuts Looming, New California Poll Shows Bipartisan Support for Program

Political polarization hasn't prevented most Californians from agreeing on the importance of Medi-Cal, California's Medicaid program.

Medi-Cal Gets a Bad Rap

Avram Goldstein

A CHCF expert explains why a critique of Medi-Cal in the editorial pages of the Wall Street Journal showed a deep misunderstanding of the program that is a lifeline for one-third of Californians.

Moving Medi-Cal Forward on the Path to Delivery System Transformation

Cindy Mann, Naomi Newman, Alice Lam

How can we ensure that Medi-Cal consistently delivers excellent access, quality, and patient experience? A Manatt report articulates a pathway for advancing Medi-Cal delivery system and payment reform.

Medi-Cal Matters: A Snapshot of How Medi-Cal Coverage Benefits Californians

Harbage Consulting

A compilation of key facts and figures illustrates the breadth and scope of Medi-Cal coverage and how that coverage benefits Californians.

Physician Participation in Medi-Cal: Is Supply Meeting Demand?

Janet Coffman, Margaret Fix

Expanding Health Coverage, Medi-Cal, Workforce

Enrollment in Medi-Cal surged between 2013 and 2015. This report looks at physician participation in Medi-Cal and implications for access to care.

Can California Find Better Ways to Pay for Medi-Cal?

Christopher Perrone

The Public Policy Institute of California, with support from CHCF, released a report outlining policy options the state could pursue to increase revenue for Medi-Cal.

How Medi-Cal’s Fiscal Balancing Act Could Soon Become More Challenging

Medi-Cal’s best-kept secret is that even with the program’s rising enrollment and costs in recent years, its financial impact on California’s General Fund has been relatively small. That could change amid uncertainty over new financing issues.