​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​CalAIM Enhanced Care Management, Community Supports​, and Incentive Payment Program Initiatives

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Enhanced Care Management (ECM) and Community Supports are foundational components of CalAIM.

Enhanced Care Management

CalAIM will improve Medi-Cal for people with complex needs and who are facing difficult life and health circumstances. It is focused on breaking down the traditional walls of health care – extending beyond hospitals and health care settings into communities.

As a key part of CalAIM, Enhanced Care Management (ECM) is a new statewide Medi-Cal benefit available to select “Populations of Focus" that will address clinical and non-clinical needs of the highest-need enrollees through intensive coordination of health and health-related services. It will meet beneficiaries wherever they are – on the street, in a shelter, in their doctor's office, or at home. Beneficiaries will have a single Lead Care Manager who will coordinate care and services among the physical, behavioral, dental, developmental, and social services delivery systems, making it easier for them to get the right care at the right time.

Download the factsheet about the CalAIM initiative to advance Enhanced Care Management.  

Community Supports ​

Additionally, beneficiaries are being connected to Community Supports to meet their social needs, including medically supportive foods or housing supports. Community Supports are new services provided by Medi-Cal managed care plans as cost effective alternatives to traditional medical services or settings. Community Supports are designed to address social drivers of health (factors in people's lives that influence their health). All Medi-Cal managed care plans are encouraged to offer as many of the 14 pre-approved Community Supports as possible and are available to eligible Medi-Cal members regardless of whether they qualify for Enhanced Care Management services.

Download the factsheet about the CalAIM initiative to advance Community Supports to address social drivers of health. ​

Community Supports Spotlight Series

The Community Supports Spotlight Series aims to review and reinforce policy guidance on individual Community Supports, identify and amplify best practices and lessons learned from community providers, Whole Person Care pilots, and Managed Care Plans, and respond to emerging questions from the field.

  • On May 18, 2022, DHCS held its first CalAIM Community Supports Spotlight webinar featuring Medically Tailored Meals which included presentations by Project Angel Food and SPUR. ​
  • On June 15, 2022, DHCS hosted the second webinar in the CalAIM Community Supports Spotlight Series, focusing on Sobering Centers and Day Habilitation programs, including eligibility requirements, program impact, and pathways to provider enrollment, as well as best practices from the field.  
  • On July 20, 2022, DHCS hosted the third webinar in the CalAIM Community Supports Spotlight series​.​ Agenda items included background on CalAIM Community Supports and information about Asthma Remediation and Environmental Accessibility Adaptations (Home Modifications), including eligibility requirements, program impact, and pathways to provider enrollment, ​as well as best practices from the field. 
  • On August 18, 2022, DHCS hosted the fourth webinar in the CalAIM Community Supports Spotlight series, focusing on Recuperative Care (Medical Respite) and Short-Term Post-Hospitalization Housing, Agenda items included background on CalAIM Community Supports and information about Short-Term Post-Hospitalization Housing and Recuperative Care (Medical Respite), including service definitions, eligibility requirements, and program impact, as well as best practices from the field. Speakers included presenters from WellSpace Health, People Assisting The Homeless (PATH) San Diego, and the National Health Care for the Homeless Council.
  • ​On September 15, 2022, DHCS hosted the fifth webinar in the CalAIM Community Supports Spotlight series, focusing on Nursing Facility Transition/Diversion to Assisted Living Facilities and Community Transition Services/Nursing Facility Transition to a Home, including service definitions, eligibility requirements, and program impact, as well as best practices from the field shared by guest speakers.

  • On October 20, 2022, DHCS hosted the sixth webinar in the CalAIM Community Supports Spotlight series.​ Agenda items included background on CalAIM Community Supports and information about Housing Transition Navigation Services, Housing Deposits, and Housing Tenancy and Sustaining Services, including service definitions, eligibility requirements, and program impact, as well as best practices from the field shared by guest speakers​.​ 

  • On November 3, 2022, DHCS hosted the seventh​ webinar in the CalAIM Community Supports Spotlight series. Agenda items include background on CalAIM Community Supports and information about Personal Care and Homemaker Services and Caregiver Respite, including service definitions, eligibility requirements, and program impact, as well as best practices from the field shared by guest speakers.

  • On December 8, 2022​, DHCS hosted the eighth and final webinar in the CalAIM Community Supports Spotlight series. This final webinar focused on services for children and youth. Agenda items included​ an overview of the impact of Community Supports on children and youth and the intersection between Community Supports and related child and youth program and services, as well as best practices from the field shared by guest speakers.

Incentive Payment Program

The CalAIM Incentive Payment Program is intended to support the implementation and expansion of ECM and Community Supports by incentivizing managed care plans (MCPs), in accordance with 42 CFR Section 438.6(b), to drive MCP delivery system investment in provider capacity and delivery system infrastructure; bridge current silos across physical and behavioral health care service delivery; reduce health disparities and pro​mote health equity; achieve improvements in quality performance; and encourage take-up of Community Supports.

Providing Access and Transforming Health (PATH)

California's Section 1115 waiver renew​al includes expenditure authority for the “Providing Access and Transforming Health" (PATH) initiative to maintain, build, and scale services, capacity and infrastructure necessary to ensure successful implementation of Enhanced Care Management, Community Supports, and Justice Involved services under CalAIM. PATH funding aims to support community level service delivery networks to ensure access to health care services, and improve health outcomes, with particular attention to communities that have been historically under-resourced because of economic or social marginalization due to race, ethnicity, rural geography, or other factors. PATH funding is available for various entities such as providers, counties, former Whole Person Care (WPC) Lead Entities, Community-Based Organizations (CBOs), tribes and others.​ Learn more about PATH. 

Important Updates:

This landing page will serve as the centralized repository for the most up-to-date information about ECM, Community Supports,​ and the Incentive Payment Program. Please submit questions about these programs to: CalAIMECMILOS@dhcs.ca.gov.
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  • On Thursday, December 22nd, DHCS began a 10-day public comment period to solicit feedback on the measure set​ for the Incentive Payment Program (IPP) Program Years 2 and 3. Programs Years 2 and 3, covering the remainder of the program, will include a total of three MCP submissions (S3, S4, and S5) and will assess MCP performance from January 1, 2023, through June 30, 2024. DHCS is seeking written feedback on the measures by Monday, January 9, 2023. Please direct your feedback to CalAIMECMILOS@dhcs.ca.gov and include “IPP Submissions 3-5 Feedback” in the subject line.

  • On Thursday, December 22nd, DHCS released an updated ECM Policy Guide, which contains details about the final Children and Youth Populations of Focus and Birth Equity Population of Focus, along with other updates. DHCS also released the ECM Model of Care (MOC) Addendum II, which contains the finalized set of MOC questions for the Children and Youth Populations of Focus. Responses to the Addendum II are due by February 15, 2023.

  • ​On Thursday, December 22nd, DHCS released early implementation data for ECM and Community Supports​, which launched in 2022. Data show the early reach of ECM and Community Sup​ports in January through June, and highlight growing member enrollment in both programs, particularly among historically underserved populations.​

Key Documents

Key ECM & Community Supports Documents​​​​​

Incentive Payment Program (IPP) Documents

Informational Webinars

Upcoming Web​inars​

To support stakeholder planning and implementation, DHCS hosts informational webinars to provide ECM and Community Supports and program updates. M​eeting materials will be made available here following the webinar.​

Past Webi​​​nars

Additional Resources

Listed below are additional resources with key information about ECM and Community Supports:

Questions and Comments

Contact DHCS with any questions or comments on the CalAIM Enhanced Care Management and Community Supports initiatives at CalAIMECMILOS@dhcs.ca.gov.​​​

Last modified date: 1/18/2023 3:16 PM