The revamp of the Medi-Cal health insurance program is an ambitious undertaking designed to improve patient care in the nation’s largest Medicaid market. Medicaid spending proposed in California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s 2022-23 budget is more than $130 billion per year, according to Fitch Ratings.
The program serves more than 14.6 million low-income Californians, of whom 12 million are enrolled in managed care plans.
With its overhaul of the Medi-Cal system, California is betting that holding insurance plans more accountable for quality care, and placing a greater focus on prevention and social determinants such as housing and access to nutritious food, will lead to better health outcomes and reduced spending by keeping people out of the hospital.
