​​​​​​​About Us​​

The California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) is the backbone of California’s health care safety net, helping millions of Californians every day. DHCS’ purpose is to provide equitable access to quality health care leading to a healthy California for all. 

To fulfill this purpose, DHCS’ Strategic Plan ​establishes the following high-level goals:

1. Be person centered – Put people first and design programs and services for whole person care in the community.
2. Increase meaningful access – Ensure individuals get care when, where, and how they need it by strengthening health care coverage, benefits, and provider and service capacity.
3. Achieve excellence in health outcomes – Improve quality outcomes, reduce health disparities, and transform the delivery system.
4. Be an employer of choice – Attract, develop, and retain a diverse and talented team that is empowered and impactful;
5. Strengthen operations – Enhance our organizational structures, processes, and systems to improve program administration.
6. Leverage data to improve outcomes – Drive better decisions and results with meaningful information.

​DHCS is the federally designated single state agency responsible for financing and administering the state's Medicaid program, Medi-Cal, which provides health care services to low-income persons and families who meet defined eligibility requirements. Medi-Cal is authorized and funded through a federal-state partnership. Medi-Cal programs cover physical health, mental health, substance use disorder, services, pharmacy, dental, and long-term services and supports. DHCS is also the single state agency for Substance Abuse and the State Mental Health Authority, and administers county-operated community mental health and substance use disorder programs, together known as behavioral health.

Medi-Cal serves about 15 million Californians. About one-third of Californians receive health care services administered by DHCS, making the Department the largest health care purchaser in California. Our success is made possible only through collaboration with the federal government, other state agencies, counties, plans, providers, and community partners as we invest more than $200 billion annually for the care of low-income families, children, pregnant women, seniors, and persons with disabilities.

DHCS is a dynamic Department with ambitious goals and talented, committed employees. We work hard every day to fulfill our vital responsibility to support the delivery of quality health care to Californians. We will continue to use tax dollars as effectively as possible while finding opportunities to improve Californians’ health and the health care delivery system of our Golden State.