‘There is nothing else’: Californians face eviction as insurer cancels assisted living benefit

2026-08-17T20:51:23Z Four weeks ago, Matt Johnstone received a call from the board-and-care facility in North Hollywood where his 89-year-old father lives. Health Net, the insurance company that pays for his care, was eliminating its assisted living benefit, meaning he would have to move out soon. Johnstone panicked. His father has dementia and needs around-the-clock care. Neither Johnstone nor his brother can afford the roughly $6,000 per month the facility costs, and with health problems of their own, they can’t safely meet his needs at home either. Without insurance coverage, their father could end up on the streets, he said. “He’s declining, and I just don’t know what’s going to happen if the program ends,” Johnstone said. CalMatters is not publishing the father’s name because Johnstone fears the plan will target him for speaking with media. Health Net, one of the largest Medi-Cal insurers in the country, is canceling assisted living benefits for members at the end of the year, according to documents obtained by CalMatters and interviews with providers. Approximately 3,500 Medi-Cal patients like Johnstone’s father rely on Health Net to pay for assisted living costs. Most are elderly, and many have cognitive issues like dementia, senior advocates say. Medi-Cal is the state’s public insurance program for low-income Californians and people with disabilities. CalViva Health and Community Health Plan of Imperial Valley, which contract with Health Net to provide services, have also notified the state of their intent to discontinue assisted living benefits. Health Net’s decision has been shrouded in confusion with little public information. Senior advocates and family members of assisted living residents fear people will become homeless or be shuffled between hospitals and skilled nursing facilities. A disaster in the making? Pauline Shatara, deputy director of California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform, said a few assisted living facilities have already confirmed to her organization that residents have been dropped off at emergency rooms. “This is going to be a disaster,” Shatara said. Senior advocates also say the state did not include enough consumer protections to ensure patients stay housed if plans decide to terminate coverage. State regulators dispute that characterization. The assisted living support is an optional Medi-Cal benefit, meaning plans can opt-into offering it to members and decide annually whether the program will continue. assisted living support is part of CalAIM, California’s broad effort to improve Medi-Cal services and save money by stabilizing high-cost users who often end up repeatedly in emergency rooms. It pays a majority of the 24-hour service costs at board-and-care homes, memory care facilities, or larger group settings, while residents cover room-and-board fees. The average nursing home, which offers a higher level of medical care, costs upwards of $10,000 per month , while an assisted living facility costs between $5,000 to $7,000 monthly. (