Overview
- Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the program Friday, with a summer start at 65 to 75 hospitals that handle about a quarter of state births and prioritize Medi-Cal patients.
- Each family will receive 400 diapers sized for newborns up to 14 pounds at hospital discharge, which covers a little over a month for most babies.
- California is partnering with the nonprofit Baby2Baby to manufacture and co-label the diapers under Golden State Start, and the state is exploring CalRx tools to push prices lower.
- The state set aside $7.4 million for the rollout and proposed another $12.5 million through June 2027, with officials planning about 40 million diapers in year one and a longer-term goal of up to 160 million.
- The list of participating hospitals has not been released, and California’s approach differs from Medicaid-linked efforts in Tennessee and Delaware by giving a hospital discharge supply to all newborns while Medi-Cal does not cover diapers for infants.