Health Net is ending its Medi-Cal assisted living benefit for about 3,500 members at year-end, and two partner plans intend to follow

Health Net is canceling its assisted living benefit at the end of 2026 for approximately 3,500 Medi-Cal members, most of them elderly and many with dementia, CalMatters reported on August 17, 2026; CalViva Health and Community Health Plan of Imperial Valley, which contract with Health Net, have also notified the state they intend to discontinue the benefit.

The benefit is an optional part of CalAIM that plans decide each year whether to offer; Health Net told state regulators that more members were moving into assisted living from home rather than from nursing homes, which costs the plan money, and said in a statement that members will receive care through their authorization dates with individualized transition plans.

Providers said Health Net had told some major contractors that services would end October 7; a September 9 CalMatters follow-up reported that a state corrective action plan now requires Health Net to extend services for all members through the end of the year and create individualized transition plans, after the Department of Health Care Services cited eight deficiencies in an August letter, including failure to submit transition plans and denying services to members, and said the state may fine Health Net $25,000 per member per day of violation; California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform said a few facilities have confirmed residents were dropped off at emergency rooms.

Health Net runs Medi-Cal plans in Amador, Calaveras, Fresno, Inyo, Los Angeles, Mono, Sacramento, San Joaquin, Stanislaus and Tulare counties; no health center is named, but community health centers in those counties may see displaced older patients who need primary care and care coordination.