FAMILY & HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE
Meeting Date: March 9, 2026
Subject: Annual Medi-Cal Activities and SNAP/CalFresh Program Update
Submitted For: Marla Stuart, Employment and Human Services Director
Department: Employment and Human Services
Referral No: Combined Medi-Cal and 103
Referral Name: Combined Medi-Cal and SNAP/CalFRESH Update
Presenter: Marla Stuart, Employment and Human Services Director; Ann Barrett, Deputy Director Workforce Services Bureau; Angela Bullock-Hayes, Workforce Services Director
Contact: Jason Chan, (925) 655-2050
Referral History:
During the COVID-19 pandemic, states received increased Medicaid funding on the condition that they would postpone disenrollments as long as the federal COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) remained in effect. This “continuous coverage” requirement allowed millions of Californians to stay on Medi-Cal during an unprecedented health crisis. The federal Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 specified that the Medicaid continuous coverage requirement would no longer be linked to the PHE. The requirement ended on March 31, 2023. Medi-Cal resumed its normal renewal processes on April 1, 2023.
The SNAP Program was originally referred to the Family and Human Services Committee (FHS) by the Board of Supervisors on February 15, 2011. This program was formerly known as Food Stamps and is currently known as the Federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). In California, the name of the program is CalFresh. The Employment and Human Services Department (EHSD) has presented periodic status reports to the FHS related to concerns about extended wait times for benefits and the impact of the expansion of CalFresh benefits to SSI (Supplemental Security Income/Supplementary Payments) recipients.
Referral Update:
Please see attached report.
Recommendation(s)/Next Step(s):
ACCEPT the Employment and Human Services Department's report on Medi-Cal activities and SNAP/CalFresh Program and FORWARD the report to the Board of Supervisors for their information and Discussion.
Fiscal Impact (if any):
There is no fiscal impact.