The California Legislative Analyst’s Office reports the state’s drug spending has doubled since 2018, with a quarter of the increase coming from weight loss drugs and an unknown portion from drugs for illegal immigrants.
Drug spending for Medi-Cal, the state’s taxpayer-funded public health care program, has increased from approximately $4 billion in the 2018-2019 fiscal year to approximately $8 billion for 2023-2024.
In the same period, Medi-Cal enrollment rose from 33.2% of the state population to 38.2%, or growth of about 15%.
So how did drug spending double despite enrollment growing just 15%?
