​February 18, 2025

Top News

Chief Deputy Director for Health Care Programs Sarah Brooks Leaving DHCS

Sarah Brooks, Chief Deputy Director for Health Care Programs, will leave DHCS for personal reasons on February 21, 2025. We appreciate Sarah's contributions to the Department and wish her all the best. Upon Sarah's departure, Tyler Sadwith will provide interim leadership to Health Care Programs in addition to his State Medicaid Director role.

California Launches Vital Health Care Services

On February 10, DHCS, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), and California Correctional Health Care Services (CCHCS) announced the expansion of the Justice-Involved Reentry Initiative to prisons statewide. The initiative allows eligible incarcerated individuals to enroll in Medi-Cal and receive a targeted set of services during the 90 days prior to their release. Connecting people to services and providers prior to release will help ensure continuity of health care coverage and services, such as medication-assisted treatment and pharmacy benefits, between incarceration and reentry. All participants are eligible for Enhanced Care Management and linkages to behavioral health care to support their successful reintegration into society.

County jails and youth detention facilities in San Joaquin County are also launching the initiative in February 2025, joining Inyo, Santa Clara, and Yuba counties, which began offering pre-release services in October 2024. More than 3,000 incarcerated individuals in county jails have received Medi-Cal pre-release services, ensuring they return to society with health coverage, prescriptions, durable medical equipment, and scheduled appointments with community-based care providers. This initiative plays a crucial role in reducing health disparities and supporting successful reentry. By October 1, 2026, all California counties must implement the initiative in their jails and youth facilities.

Program Updates

Community Supports Services Definitions

DHCS recently released updated service definitions for four Community Supports that will go into effect on July 1, 2025. These updates cover Nursing Facility Transition/Diversion to Assisted Living Facilities, Community Transition Services/Nursing Facility Transition to a Home, Asthma Remediation, and Medically Tailored Meals/Medically Supportive Food. By refining these definitions, DHCS seeks to ensure that services are more effectively tailored to meet the diverse needs of Medi-Cal members, thereby promoting better health outcomes and more efficient care delivery. The service definition refinements are the result of extensive stakeholder engagement with managed care plans, providers, and subject matter experts. DHCS is committed to enhancing Community Supports and plans to release additional refinements for housing-related Community Supports in late spring 2025. Please email your questions to CalAIMECMILOS@dhcs.ca.gov.

Medi-Cal Home and Community-Based Services and Managed Long-Term Services and Supports Gap Analysis Report

On February 14, DHCS released a new report that identifies gaps in California's Medi-Cal Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) and Managed Long-Term Services and Supports (MLTSS) programs. Specifically, the report identifies critical gaps in California's HCBS programs and service delivery systems. The report informs next steps to reduce inequities in access and services, meet member needs, increase program integration and coordination, improve care quality, and streamline access to services. Key findings from the report include:

• California's population is aging rapidly, particularly in areas where current access to HCBS is already limited.
• In rural areas, use of institutional LTSS is higher than in more urban areas. The population of future LTSS users is expected to include a greater number of Hispanics, people ages 85 and older, and females.
• To meet the needs of a growing population of Medi-Cal members who need HCBS, the number of HCBS providers participating in Medi-Cal must increase.
• The largest reported areas of workforce needs are for direct care providers.
  

Based on the report's results and feedback from a broad array of stakeholders and advocates, DHCS will develop a multi-year roadmap to address LTSS needs in the state by expanding HCBS providers' capacity, strengthening partnerships among the state, counties, health plans, HCBS providers, and community-based organizations, and identifying key milestones and benchmarks to help California monitor progress. Through the gap analysis and roadmap, DHCS intends to identify and analyze opportunities to expand access to Medi-Cal HCBS and MLTSS and improve health outcomes, patient satisfaction, and health equity for Medi-Cal members.

For more information about this effort, please visit DHCS' Gap Analysis and Multi-Year Roadmap of Medi-Cal HCBS and MLTSS Programs webpage. DHCS will discuss the report's highlights with stakeholders in a webinar open to the public scheduled for March 13. More details will be included in a future stakeholder update.

Join Our Team

DHCS is seeking talented and motivated individuals to serve as:

• Chief, Health Information Management Division (HIMD). The Chief of HIMD is responsible for the collection and exchange of data between DHCS and external stakeholders and for ensuring compliance with applicable federal and state standards and regulations. The Chief of HIMD also leads the development of policy and data presentation processes using business intelligence tools that support key policy initiatives, such as California Advancing and Innovating Medi-Cal and HCBS initiatives. Applications must be submitted by February 27.
  

• Chief, Procurement and Contracting Division (PCD). The Chief of PCD leads all aspects of procurement and contracting activities for DHCS and provides strategic support, expert guidance, and solutions for DHCS' procurement and contracting needs. The Chief of PCD is also designated as DHCS' Procurement and Contracting Officer (PCO). As the PCO, the Chief of PCD is responsible for ensuring compliance with all applicable laws, rules, and regulations, including applicable appropriations and executive orders. Applications must be submitted by February 28.
  

DHCS is also hiring for its accounting, financial, behavioral health, managed care, quality and population health management, and other teams. For more information, please visit the CalCareers website.

Upcoming Stakeholder Meetings and Webinars

DHCS posts upcoming public meetings on the Calendar of Events.

Stakeholder Advisory Committee (SAC)/Behavioral Health (BH)-SAC Meeting

On February 19, from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. PST, DHCS will host the hybrid SAC/BH-SAC meeting (advance registration required for online and in-person participation) at 1700 K Street (first-floor conference room 17.1014), Sacramento. SAC provides DHCS with valuable input and feedback on efforts to provide equitable access to quality health care. BH-SAC provides DHCS with input on behavioral health initiatives and was created as part of the ongoing effort to integrate behavioral health with the greater health care system. Please see the agenda and other meeting materials. For more information, please email SACinquiries@dhcs.ca.gov or BehavioralHealthSAC@dhcs.ca.gov.

California Surgeon General Maternal Health Summit: Improving Cardiovascular Health

On February 20, from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. PST at the May Lee State Office Complex (651 Bannon Street, Sacramento), California Surgeon General Dr. Diana E. Ramos will host the Maternal Health Summit: Improving Cardiovascular Health as part of American Heart Month for a day dedicated to highlighting the role of cardiovascular disease in pregnancy-associated deaths and opportunities to improve cardiovascular health and reduce maternal morbidity and mortality (advance registration required). This is an in-person event only, and virtual attendance is not available. Registration begins at 8:30 a.m. Please direct all questions to StrongStartAndBeyond@osg.ca.gov, and visit the Office of the California Surgeon General website to learn more about this movement.

California Opioid Settlements Annual Expenditures Report Meeting

On February 26, from 1 to 3 p.m. PST, DHCS will host a virtual meeting to discuss the California Opioid Settlements Annual Expenditures Report for State Fiscal Year (SFY) 2022-23 (advance registration required). The statewide report will be published on the DHCS California Opioid Settlements webpage and offers an overview of opioid settlement and bankruptcy payments and expenditures for SFY 2022-23. Beginning in 2023, DHCS received reported expenditure data regarding opioid settlement-funded projects by California and its participating cities and counties. The purpose of the meeting is to review the annual report, provide a high-level review of allowable expenditures under the opioid settlement and bankruptcy agreements, offer details on how funds were appropriated to California state projects, and summarize how funds were spent on local initiatives by cities and counties in SFY 2022-23.

Birthing Care Pathway Webinar

On March 4, from 3 to 4:30 p.m. PST, DHCS will host a webinar on the Birthing Care Pathway (advance registration required). On February 4, DHCS released the Birthing Care Pathway Report, which includes a series of policy solutions and strategic opportunities for further exploration that aim to address the physical, behavioral, and health-related social needs of pregnant and postpartum members by improving access to providers, strengthening clinical care and care coordination across the care continuum, providing whole-person care, and modernizing how Medi-Cal pays for maternity care.

During the webinar, attendees will hear from DHCS leaders about the goals of the Birthing Care Pathway, a comprehensive overview of the policies DHCS is implementing, a summary of strategic opportunities for further exploration, and how the Transforming Maternal Health (TMaH) Model will complement and bolster DHCS' work to strengthen California's health care delivery system, improve maternal health outcomes, and reduce disparities. Please email BirthingCarePathway@dhcs.ca.gov with any questions.

Medi-Cal Children's Health Advisory Panel (MCHAP) Meeting

On March 13, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. PDT, DHCS will host the quarterly MCHAP meeting at 1700 K Street (first-floor conference room 17.1014), Sacramento, or via public webinar (advance registration required for online and in-person participation). MCHAP advises DHCS on policy and operational issues that affect children in Medi-Cal. The meeting will provide updates on the Birthing Care Pathway and DHCS Pediatric Dashboard. It will also include a presentation by Alex Briscoe from the California Children's Trust about the unprecedented reforms impacting Medicaid and youth mental health systems change. Please email questions or comments to MCHAP@dhcs.ca.gov.

In Case You Missed It

​New Sites Bring Vital Behavioral Health Care Services to Teens and Adults in Los Angeles County

DHCS is expanding residential services for individuals with substance use disorders and co-occurring mental health needs at two locations in Los Angeles County. The Whole Child—Mental Health and Housing Services celebrated the grand opening of a new community wellness center that provides trauma-informed, culturally sensitive mental health, family housing, parent enrichment, and nutrition education services. Also, St. Anne's Family Services hosted a groundbreaking for a new short-term residential therapeutic program (STRTP) called STRTP FOR ONE, which annually provides high-quality supportive housing programs, early childhood education, mental health, and family-based services to thousands of young women, children, and families in Los Angeles County.

Request for Applications (RFA): Improving Behavioral Health Services Delivery

DHCS released a RFA to solicit applications from consultants to assist counties in improving their performance in the delivery of behavioral health services and contracting for these services, with outcomes, transparency, and accountability to residents. Interested participants must apply by February 24 at 4 p.m. PST.

Now Open: Providing Access and Transforming Health (PATH) Capacity and Infrastructure Transition, Expansion, and Development (CITED) Round 4 Application

On January 6, DHCS opened the PATH CITED Round 4 application window, including the Transitional Rent Community Support. The PATH CITED initiative provides funding to build the capacity and infrastructure of on-the-ground partners, including community-based organizations, hospitals, county agencies, Tribes, and others, to successfully participate in Medi-Cal. Nearly $158 million is available for Round 4. All organizations providing the Transitional Rent Community Support must do so in partnership with their county behavioral health department. To demonstrate this partnership, all CITED applicants planning to request funding to support the Transitional Rent Community Support must also submit a Letter of Support in collaboration with the county behavioral health department.
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The deadline to apply for PATH CITED Round 4 funding is 11:59 p.m. PDT on May 2, 2025. The guidance document and application are available on the PATH CITED webpage. Please send any questions to cited@ca-path.com.