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Senate approves income-based cap on RCFE room-and-board rates to protect Medi-Cal recipients
Summary
Lawmakers passed SB 433 to require income-based room-and-board caps for Medi-Cal assisted living waiver participants, aiming to preserve a personal needs allowance for non-SSI residents after testimony described facilities forcing families to pay increases or face eviction.
The Senate approved SB 433 (Ayes 31, Noes 5), a bill establishing income-based room-and-board rate protections for participants in Medi-Cal assisted living waiver programs and related CalAIM community support programs.
Author Senator Minhajee Wahab said the bill “creates an income based cap to RCFE room and board rates that allows all Medi-Cal assisted living program participants to keep the same personal needs allowance.” She explained that state rules already protect Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients but not low-income Medi-Cal participants without SSI, a group she said makes up “nearly 45% of the program’s participants.” She framed the change as preventing facilities from levying out-of-pocket rate increases or threatening eviction.
Supporters argued the measure protects older adults and people with disabilities from losing housing and essential care. Legislators cited data about standardized minimum personal needs allowances set by the Department of Social Services and described instances where facilities compelled family payments under threat of eviction. The bill’s floor presentation emphasized the human impact: a lack of an income-based cap can leave residents with as little as $179 for monthly personal needs, a figure the author used to illustrate the program’s urgency.
The recorded vote was Ayes 31, Noes 5. The measure passed and will proceed to the Assembly. The vote accompanies a broader package of elder-care and assisted-living measures the Senate considered the same day, including SB 435 (backup power for RCFEs), which passed separately.
