Summary of the California Enacted 2022-23 Budget: Impact on California’s Older Adults, People with Disabilities, and Family Caregivers

Overview

The 2022-23 budget includes investments addressing health care access, long-term services and supports, economic security, affordable housing, and workforce development that impact older adults, people with disabilities, and their caregivers. The enacted budget reflects General Fund (GF) resources of $242.1 billion and anticipated expenditures of $234.4 billion, including more than $17 billion in a broad-based relief package and $37.2 billion in reserves.¹

Transforming Aging in California

Released in January 2021, California’s Master Plan for Aging (Master Plan) offers a blueprint for funding priorities over the next nine years. The enacted budget includes significant investments and emerging opportunities aligned with the goals in the Master Plan: 1) Housing for All Ages and Stages, 2) Health Reimagined, 3) Inclusion and Equity, not Isolation, 4) Caregiving that Works, and 5) Affording Aging.²

As a living document, it is meant to be continuously revisited and improved upon to reflect the current environment and needs of California’s aging population. The budget includes $36 million for ongoing Master Plan implementation, including the Data Dashboard designed to drive outcomes and sustain public engagement for statewide initiatives. Transformative investments in planning, capacity building, infrastructure development, program expansion, and data to support the Master Plan improve the state’s ability to provide person-centered, equitable care in health, housing, and social supports.¹

California’s 2022-23 Budget: Impact on Older Adults, People with Disabilities, and Family Caregivers

The enacted 2022-23 budget includes a range of new investments and commitments that align with the Master Plan. Several new investments are supported through one-time American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 funding.³

Significant health care investments that expand access to Medi-Cal, implement CalAIM, and other health-related items are outlined in Table 1 below. In addition, the budget recognizes two core policy changes. First, the budget makes permanent a COVID-19 regulatory flexibility referred to as presumptive eligibility, allowing hospitals to provide Medi-Cal benefits to adults age 65 and older based on preliminary information. Second, the budget commits to reforming the Medi-Cal Share of Cost program, which raises the monthly amount people can retain for basic needs from the current set amount of $600 to an income-based calculation of 138 percent of the federal poverty level (FPL) on January 1, 2025, subject to budget appropriation.^1,4

Table 2 reflects the investments to enhance long-term services and supports (LTSS).

The enacted budget addresses the housing crisis by allocating $2.9 billion of investments in affordable housing initiatives to accelerate the development of homeownership opportunities and $10.2 billion in services for those experiencing homelessness. Table 3 highlights key initiatives from these investments and others that could directly impact older adults and people with disabilities.¹

The enacted budget provides significant investments to address health care workforce shortages broadly. Table 4 reflects investments to support workforce development, including training, leadership development, and volunteer opportunities for older adults.¹

The enacted budget invests in economic security, food access, and elder justice initiatives to assist California’s low-income older adults, people with disabilities, and others in obtaining income support and food assistance, as outlined in Table 6.¹

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