CalAIM Enhanced Care Management, Community Supports, and Incentive Payment Program Initiatives
Return to the CalAIM Homepage
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 at 12:00 p.m., 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 at 1:00 p.m., 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 at 12:00 p.m., 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 at 12:00 p.m., DHCS will virtually host the sixth webinar in the CalAIM Community Supports Spotlight series. Agenda items include 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. Register here to attend!
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 promote 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 renewal 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.
ECM and Community Supports Data Guidance Survey – DUE OCTOBER 7th
With Enhanced Care Management and Community Supports now launched statewide, DHCS is requesting that all MCPs and their contracted ECM and Community Supports Providers that have launched complete this survey to receive feedback on the utility of existing information exchange guidance and identify where persistent data exchange barriers may benefit from expanded or refined standardization. More information about the data guidance documents covered and how to complete the survey can be found in the survey instructions.
The survey must be completed and returned to DHCS via the survey link by October 7th. Please only one submission per organization. Please reach out to the ECM and Community Supports Mailbox with any questions.
- On Thursday, September 29 from 2:00 - 3:00 P.M., DHCS will virtually host an “Office Hours” discussion on CalAIM ECM and Community Supports implementation in rural counties. This event is part of a series of “Office Hours” events focused on answering implementation questions from the field. Throughout the series, DHCS leaders will be joined by panelists from Managed Care Plans, providers, and community-based organizations implementing CalAIM. They will answer questions posed by participants during the office hours session, received in previous webinars, and submitted via email or the registration page prior to the meeting.
Advanced Registration is required. Participants are invited to submit questions by Monday, September 26 to CalAIMECMILOS@dhcs.ca.gov. Attendees will also have an opportunity to ask questions during the session.
On Thursday, October 13th from 1:30 - 3:00 P.M., DHCS will host an all-comers webinar on Housing Supports via CalAIM ECM and Community Supports. This event is part of a series of technical assistance and informational events focused on supporting implementation of ECM and Community Supports. Throughout the series, DHCS leaders will be joined by panelists from managed care plans, provider groups, and community organizations implementing CalAIM.
- An additional “Office Hours” event will be held on October 27 from 2:00 - 3:00 P.M. for attendees to ask any additional questions not covered in the webinar. Advanced Registration is required.
Key Documents
Key ECM & Community Supports Documents
Incentive Payment Program (IPP) Documents
Informational Webinars
Upcoming Webinars
To support stakeholder planning and implementation, DHCS hosts informational webinars to provide ECM and Community Supports and program updates. Meeting materials will be made available here following the webinar.
- Community Supports Spotlight Webinar featuring Housing Navigation, Tenancy Supports, and Deposits October 20, 2022 at 1:00 P.M. PST
Past Webinars
- CalAIM Office Hours: Enhanced Care Management (ECM) Long-Term Care Populations of Focus - September 22, 2022
- Presentation Slides (Coming Soon)
- Recording (Coming Soon)
- Transcript (Coming Soon)
- Community Supports Spotlight Webinar featuring Nursing Facility Transition/Diversion to Assisted Living Facilities and Community Transition Services/Nursing Facility Transition to a Home - September 15, 2022
- CalAIM Webinar: Enhanced Care Management (ECM) Long-Term Care Populations of Focus - September 8, 2022
- Presentation Slides (Coming Soon)
- Recording (Coming Soon)
- Transcript (Coming Soon)
- CalAIM Office Hours: Enhanced Care Management (ECM) and Community Supports Outreach and Engagement - September 1, 2022
- CalAIM Webinar: Enhanced Care Management (ECM) and Community Supports Outreach and Engagement - August 25, 2022
- CalAIM Community Supports Spotlight Webinar featuring Recuperative Care (Medical Respite) and Short-Term Post-Hospitalization Housing - August 18, 2022
- DHCS Office Hours: Overview of Data Exchange and Reporting Requirements for Enhanced Care Management (ECM) and Community Supports- August 11, 2022
- Enhanced Care Management (ECM) and Community Supports Data Exchange Overview #2 - August 4, 2022
- DHCS Office Hours: Rural Implementation of Enhanced Care Management and Community Supports - July 22, 2022
- Community Supports Spotlight Webinar featuring Asthma Remediation and Environmental Accessibility Adaptations - July 20, 2022
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.
