Researchers at the University of California released an evaluation of impact of California's Long Term Care Reimbursement Act of 2004 (AB 1629) that showed that Medi-Cal costs for nursing homes increased by $590 million between 2004 and 2006 without improvements in quality or access to care. Total costs for California's free-standing nursing homes were $6.6 billion in 2006. The Long Term Care Reimbursement Act was designed to improve the quality of nursing home care by increasing Medi-Cal reimbursement rates, using a payment system based on actual costs of care for each facility with certain costs ceilings. Implemented in 2004-05, the system raised Medi-Cal rates from $124 per day in 2004 to $152 per day in 2006. The report showed that access for Medi-Cal residents, quality of care in nursing homes did not improve between 2004 and 2006. Expenditures for administrative costs increased and net income margins improved over the period.