At the California Health Care Access and Information (HCAI) Affordability Board meeting earlier this week, members discussed new protocols healthcare entities engaging in transactions must take, including the potential for a cost and market impact review (CMIR). Regulatory changes will go into effect on Jan. 1st, 2024, and fall under Senate Bill 184, which was … Read more
The ongoing opioid crisis has led to more Californian state officials and healthcare leaders promoting MAT, or medication assisted treatment. While research has shown that MAT increases positive outcomes for those living with substance use disorder (SUD), it comes with its own barriers. MAT combines the use of medications with counseling and behavioral therapies to … Read more
Last month, California’s Department of Health Care Services announced the availability of over $41 million in funding available to community-based and tribal organizations to widen youth substance use prevention services. Organizations have until August 28th to submit applications of up to $1 million to implement the Elevate Youth Program. The goal of the Elevate Youth … Read more
At the beginning of the month, California’s Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) opened a 30-day public comment period to gain feedback on its Section 1115 demonstration request for the California Behavioral Health Community-Based Organized Networks of Equitable Care and Treatment, or BH-CONNECT. The department hosted a forum to explain initiatives for the waiver demonstration, … Read more
California’s Progressive Caucus recently hosted the Healthcare is a Human Right forum to discuss Assembly Bill 1690 and Senate Bill 770, which if passed, would advance the effort to establish universal healthcare coverage in the state. Irene Kao, executive director of Courage California, highlighted SB 770, a unified healthcare financing bill. The bill builds on … Read more
California began redetermining Medi-Cal eligibility of members in April, and has since disenrolled 225,231 individuals, while 499,093 individuals have maintained their Medi-Cal coverage, according to Yingjia Huang, assistant deputy director of Health Care Benefits and Eligibility at the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS). This week, Huang hosted a webinar with stakeholders to go over … Read more
To expand access to community-based mental health and crisis care relating to substance use for Medi-Cal beneficiaries, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently approved coverage of mobile crisis intervention teams. Through these mobile teams, behavioral healthcare providers will be available 24/7 for Medi-Cal beneficiaries who are experiencing crises. Mobile crisis teams will … Read more
A Santa Clara County program that assists enrolled members with receiving grants to cover lifesaving medical supplies, known as MedAssist, hit their milestone of enrolling 1,000 members in June. Those who qualify for MedAssist receive up to three grants for high-cost out-of-pocket prescription expenses for diabetes medications, asthma inhalers, and epinephrine auto-injectors. About 118,900 adults … Read more
The state of California recently adopted their $310 billion 2023-24 state budget, and despite a $31.5 billion shortfall, leaders prioritized investments in healthcare. Key healthcare investments include CalAIM and a renewed Managed Care Organization (MCO) Tax. The budget includes a total of $156.6 billion to support the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS). Of this … Read more
The Latino Coalition for a Healthy California (LCHC), a statewide policy advocacy organization, recently held a webinar about data equity for Latinx and Indigenous communities in the state, known as “We Count!” Panelists highlighted the importance of disaggregated data collection when it comes to addressing disparities, and spoke to the importance of Senate Bill 435, … Read more