Home Medi-Cal Member Toolkit

Medi-Cal Member Toolkit

Part of the Medi-Cal Doula Toolkit includes a Medi-Cal member-focused section that includes fact sheets with additional information about maternal health care providers, what services doula provide compared to other maternal health care providers, processes for filing complaints, grievances, and appeals, resources on how to find a doula, including a directory of doulas enrolled in Medi-Cal, and answers to frequently asked questions. 

Fact Sheets  

Maternal Health Care Services and Providers 

All Medi-Cal members have access to many different maternal health care services as well as options when choosing a maternal health care provider, as outlined in the following Fact Sheets: 

Medi-Cal Service Complaints, Grievances & Appeals 

Medi-Cal members, whether in Medi-Cal fee-for-service or managed care, may file a complaint, grievance, or appeal if they have concerns with the care they received or the quality of that care, care they were denied, a provider interaction, and more. The following Fact Sheets provide additional information: 

State Hearing Requests  

​​All Medi-Cal members, whether in Medi-Cal fee-for-service or managed care, who have received or are currently receiving Medi-Cal services and have concerns about how the Medi-Cal services are/were handled or have been denied or modified, may request a State Hearing with the California Department of Social Services (CDSS). For more information on how to file a request for a State Hearing​, please refer to CDSS’ Hearing Requests website. Please note the following important information: 

  • You must file your request within 90 days of receiving the Notice of Action (NOA). You may be able to file after 90 days if you have a good reason, like illness or a disability.​ 
  • Y​our benefits may continue pending review (Aid Paid Pending) if the hearing is requested by the effective date when 10-day notice is needed, or if 10-day is not needed it’s within 10 days of the date of the notice​. This process allows you to continue receiving services while the case is being reviewed. 

State Hearings may be requested in one of three ways: 

  • Phone: 1 (800) 743-8525 (Toll-free) 
  • Mail: Complete the “Request for State Hearing” portion on the back of the NOA or put your request on a separate piece of paper. Please provide all requested information such as your full name, address, telephone number, the name of the county that took the action against you, the aid program(s) involved, and a detailed reason why you want a State Hearing. Submit your request to the county welfare department at the address shown on the Notice of action, by mail to: 

California Department of Social Services 
State Hearings Division 
P.O. Box 944243, Mail Station 9-17-442 
Sacramento, California 94244-2430 

Discrimination Complaints & Grievances  

DHCS administers Medi-Cal. DHCS does not unlawfully discriminate on the basis of sex, race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, ethnic group identification, age, mental disability, physical disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, or any other basis protected by federal or State civil rights laws.  

DHCS has adopted a grievance procedure providing for the resolution of complaints alleging unlawful discrimination in Medi-Cal. Any member who believes that they or another member has been subjected to unlawful discrimination in Medi-Cal may file a grievance with the DHCS Office of Civil Rights within 365 days from the day the discrimination took place using DHCS Discrimination Complaint Form (DHCS 1044), which may be submitted in one of three ways: 

Office of Civil Rights, Department of Health Care Services 

PO Box 997413, MS 0009

Sacramento, CA 95899-7413 

For additional information, refer to DHCS’ Discrimination Grievance Procedures website. 

Doula Directory 

The Doula Directory lists Medi-Cal enrolled doula providers by county who opted to be included in the directory. It includes their specialties, language, ethnicity, contact information, and other information that doulas shared with DHCS for the directory. DHCS updates the directory once each month. 

Medi-Cal members with fee-for-service may use the directory to find a doula. Medi-Cal members in a managed care plan (MCP) should contact Member Services for their MCP to assist them in securing doula services. MCP point of contact for members can be found in the Medi-Cal Managed Care Plan Member Contact List. For assistance, please refer to this flowchart: 

  • Finding a Doula Provider

Other Resources 

Language Access 

العربية   |   Հայերեն   |   ខ្មែរ   |   繁體中文   |   فارسی   |   हिंदी   |   Hmoob   |   日本語   |   한국어   |   ລາວ   |   Mienhwaac   |   ਪੰਜਾਬੀ   |   Русский   |   Español   |   Tagalog   |   ภาษาไทย   |   Українська   |   Tiếng Việt 

Contact Us 

Contact DHCS via email at DoulaBenefit@dhcs.ca.gov for any questions relating to Medi-Cal doula services. Please do not include personal information in your email. If you wish to share this information, please email us first so we can reply with a secure (encrypted) email for you to respond to and share that information.