CA AB 2081
vetoedMedi-Cal: Home and Community-Based Alternatives Waiver.
California · 2025-2026 Regular Session · lower
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Quick answers
Did CA AB 2081 pass?
No. CA AB 2081 passed the legislature but was vetoed. Latest recorded action (2026-09-18): Vetoed by Governor.
What is CA AB 2081 about?
Existing law establishes the Medi-Cal program, which is administered by the State Department of Health Care Services and under which qualified low-income individuals receive health care services. The Medi-Cal program is in part governed by, and funded pursuant to, federal Medicaid program provisions. Under existing law, home- and community-based services (HCBS) approved by the United States Department of Health and Human Services are covered for eligible individuals to the extent that federal financial participation is available for those services under the state plan or waivers granted in accordance with certain federal provisions. Existing law authorizes the Director of Health Care Services to seek waivers for any or all approvable HCBS. Existing law sets forth provisions for the implementation of the Nursing Facility/Acute Hospital Transition and Diversion Waiver, which is the predecessor of the Home and Community-Based Alternatives (HCBA) Waiver, for purposes of providing care management services to individuals who are at risk of nursing facility or institutional placement, subject to federal cost neutrality. Existing law authorizes the director to propose that the waiver provide for achievement of annual cost neutrality in the aggregate to allow enrollment and authorization of waiver services based on medical necessity, and to require care management contractors to enroll at least 60% of all total annual enrollments from certain health care settings or populations. Existing law additionally sets forth provisions authorizing the director to expand the number of waiver slots up to 5,000 additional slots. This bill would recast the above-described waiver provisions to refer to the HCBA Waiver. The bill would authorize the director, beginning January 1, 2027, to semiannually evaluate the populations receiving the priority enrollment described above, and to designate additional populations to receive priority enrollment based on this evaluation, subject to applicable cost-neutrality requirements. The bill would delete the provision relating to the 5,000 slots. The bill would instead require the department, beginning in 2027, and for the HCBA Waiver period, to increase the total number of waiver slots by 5,000, in addition to any planned expansion of waiver slots federally approved as of January 1, 2026, as specified, consistent with the above-described requirements.
Who sponsors CA AB 2081?
Stefani is the primary sponsor of CA AB 2081, joined by 6 cosponsors.
Description
Existing law establishes the Medi-Cal program, which is administered by the State Department of Health Care Services and under which qualified low-income individuals receive health care services. The Medi-Cal program is in part governed by, and funded pursuant to, federal Medicaid program provisions. Under existing law, home- and community-based services (HCBS) approved by the United States Department of Health and Human Services are covered for eligible individuals to the extent that federal financial participation is available for those services under the state plan or waivers granted in accordance with certain federal provisions. Existing law authorizes the Director of Health Care Services to seek waivers for any or all approvable HCBS. Existing law sets forth provisions for the implementation of the Nursing Facility/Acute Hospital Transition and Diversion Waiver, which is the predecessor of the Home and Community-Based Alternatives (HCBA) Waiver, for purposes of providing care management services to individuals who are at risk of nursing facility or institutional placement, subject to federal cost neutrality. Existing law authorizes the director to propose that the waiver provide for achievement of annual cost neutrality in the aggregate to allow enrollment and authorization of waiver services based on medical necessity, and to require care management contractors to enroll at least 60% of all total annual enrollments from certain health care settings or populations. Existing law additionally sets forth provisions authorizing the director to expand the number of waiver slots up to 5,000 additional slots. This bill would recast the above-described waiver provisions to refer to the HCBA Waiver. The bill would authorize the director, beginning January 1, 2027, to semiannually evaluate the populations receiving the priority enrollment described above, and to designate additional populations to receive priority enrollment based on this evaluation, subject to applicable cost-neutrality requirements. The bill would delete the provision relating to the 5,000 slots. The bill would instead require the department, beginning in 2027, and for the HCBA Waiver period, to increase the total number of waiver slots by 5,000, in addition to any planned expansion of waiver slots federally approved as of January 1, 2026, as specified, consistent with the above-described requirements.
- Introduced
- 2026-03-25
- Latest action
- 2026-09-18 — Vetoed by Governor.
- Bill type
- bill
- Last updated
- —
Subjects
Sponsors
- Stefaniauthor
- Bontaprincipal coauthor
- Connollycoauthor
- Elhawarycoauthor
- Kalracoauthor
- Michelle Rodriguezcoauthor
- Schiavocoauthor
Committees
Not provided by source.
Action timeline
Newest first
2026-09-18
Vetoed by Governor.
executive-veto
2026-09-08
Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 3:30 p.m.
executive-receipt
2026-08-28
Senate amendments concurred in. To Engrossing and Enrolling. (Ayes 77. Noes 0.).
2026-08-28
Senate amendments concurred in. To Engrossing and Enrolling. (Ayes 77. Noes 0. Page 6805.).
amendment-passage,committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable
2026-08-27
In Assembly. Concurrence in Senate amendments pending.
2026-08-27
Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Assembly. (Ayes 39. Noes 0.).
passage,reading-1,reading-3
2026-08-25
Ordered to special consent calendar.
2026-08-17
Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
reading-1,reading-2,reading-3
2026-08-13
From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended. (Ayes 7. Noes 0.) (August 13).
amendment-introduction,amendment-passage,committee-passage
2026-08-13
Read second time and amended. Ordered returned to second reading.
amendment-passage,reading-1,reading-2
2026-06-29
In committee: Referred to APPR. suspense file.
referral-committee
2026-06-18
From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. with recommendation: To Consent Calendar. (Ayes 11. Noes 0.) (June 17). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable,referral-committee
2026-06-03
Referred to Com. on HEALTH.
referral-committee
2026-05-22
In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment.
reading-1,referral-committee
2026-05-22
Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. (Ayes 73. Noes 0. Page 5263.)
passage,reading-1,reading-3
2026-05-18
Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
reading-1,reading-2,reading-3
2026-05-14
From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 15. Noes 0.) (May 14).
committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable
2026-05-14
Coauthors revised.
2026-04-08
In committee: Set, first hearing. Referred to APPR. suspense file.
referral-committee
2026-04-06
Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
referral-committee
2026-03-26
Read second time and amended.
amendment-passage,reading-1,reading-2
2026-03-25
From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on APPR. with recommendation: To Consent Calendar. (Ayes 16. Noes 0.) (March 24).
amendment-introduction,amendment-passage,committee-passage,referral-committee
2026-03-02
Referred to Com. on HEALTH.
referral-committee
2026-02-19
From printer. May be heard in committee March 21.
2026-02-18
Read first time. To print.
reading-1
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Votes
Do pass as amended, and be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations] with recommendation: To Consent Calendar
2026-03-24 · pass · 16-0
Member-level votes (16)
- Caloza: yes
- Stefani: yes
- Pacheco: yes
- Patterson: yes
- Addis: yes
- Schiavo: yes
- Carrillo: yes
- Chen: yes
- Mark González: yes
- Patel: yes
- Sanchez: yes
- Aguiar-Curry: yes
- Johnson: yes
- Rogers: yes
- Sharp-Collins: yes
- Bonta: yes
Do pass.
2026-05-14 · pass · 15-0
Member-level votes (15)
- Dixon: yes
- Krell: yes
- Sharp-Collins: yes
- Tangipa: yes
- Wicks: yes
- Pacheco: yes
- Caloza: yes
- Ta: yes
- Fong: yes
- Calderon: yes
- Hoover: yes
- Pellerin: yes
- Solache: yes
- Aguiar-Curry: yes
- Mark González: yes
AB 2081 Stefani Assembly Third Reading
2026-05-22 · pass · 73-0
Member-level votes (80)
- Calderon: yes
- Castillo: yes
- Alvarez: yes
- Gipson: yes
- Dixon: yes
- Aguiar-Curry: yes
- Ellis: yes
- Sharp-Collins: yes
- Berman: yes
- Gallagher: yes
- Wilson: yes
- Bains: yes
- Hoover: yes
- Stefani: yes
- Sanchez: yes
- Papan: yes
- Krell: yes
- Ahrens: yes
- Nguyen: yes
- Alanis: yes
- Carrillo: yes
- Muratsuchi: yes
- Ransom: yes
- Fong: yes
- Valencia: yes
- Petrie-Norris: yes
- Rogers: yes
- Tangipa: yes
- Irwin: yes
- Lowenthal: yes
- Addis: yes
- Ramos: yes
- Mark González: yes
- Zbur: yes
- Bryan: yes
- Bonta: yes
- Bennett: yes
- Hadwick: yes
- Boerner: yes
- Haney: yes
- Quirk-Silva: yes
- Solache: yes
- Michelle Rodriguez: yes
- Schiavo: yes
- Ortega: yes
- Patterson: yes
- Ávila Farías: yes
- Jackson: yes
- Lee: yes
- Jeff Gonzalez: yes
- Schultz: yes
- Flora: yes
- Garcia: yes
- Harabedian: yes
- Patel: yes
- Caloza: yes
- Wallis: yes
- Elhawary: yes
- Kalra: yes
- Pellerin: yes
- McKinnor: yes
- Blanca Rubio: yes
- Johnson: yes
- Hart: yes
- Pacheco: yes
- Connolly: yes
- Soria: yes
- Ward: yes
- DeMaio: yes
- Macedo: yes
- Rivas: yes
- Davies: yes
- Lackey: yes
- Bauer-Kahan: other
- Gabriel: other
- Chen: other
- Celeste Rodriguez: other
- Ta: other
- Wicks: other
- Arambula: other
Do pass, but first be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations] with the recommendation: To Consent Calendar
2026-06-17 · pass · 11-0
Member-level votes (11)
- Grove: yes
- Gonzalez: yes
- Menjivar: yes
- Smallwood-Cuevas: yes
- Padilla: yes
- Caballero: yes
- Valladares: yes
- Weber Pierson: yes
- Pérez: yes
- Rubio: yes
- Durazo: yes
Placed on suspense file
2026-06-29 · pass · 7-0
Member-level votes (7)
- Cervantes: yes
- Seyarto: yes
- Richardson: yes
- Dahle: yes
- Cabaldon: yes
- Wahab: yes
- Grayson: yes
Related bills
No related bills recorded for this bill.
Official source
Attribution
Data from openstates_api_sync, retrieved 2026-09-21T02:53:48.612860Z
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