March 3, 2025
Program Updates
Medi-Cal Enrollment for Qualified Autism Service and Community-Based Organization Providers Offering Behavioral Health Treatment Services: Public Hearing
Qualified autism service (QAS) provider organizations and individuals offering behavioral health treatment services for Medi-Cal patients (in both the fee-for-service and managed care plan delivery systems) will be required to enroll as providers in the Medi-Cal program to bill for behavioral health treatment services. In addition, first-time community-based organization (CBO) applicants and currently enrolled CBO providers must enroll to bill for behavioral health treatment services provided by QAS providers, QAS professionals, and QAS paraprofessionals to FFS Medi-Cal members. Enrollment will open on May 5, 2025.
On March 14, from 10 to 11:30 a.m. PDT, DHCS will hold a
public stakeholder hearing via webinar (advance registration required) to discuss two draft regulatory provider bulletins. Written comments, questions, or suggestions may be submitted during the hearing in the webinar chat. For people unable to attend, written comments must be submitted by 5 p.m. PDT on March 14 to be considered for publication. When submitting written comments, please ensure the commenter and organization/association being represented are both identified in the comments. Please submit written comments to
DHCSPEDStakeholder@dhcs.ca.gov. Based on the public comments received, DHCS will publish the final bulletin on the
Medi-Cal providers and
DHCS Provider Enrollment Division websites.
Join Our Team
DHCS is seeking a talented and motivated individual to serve as:
- Chief, Program Support Division (PSD). The Chief of PSD leads all aspects of DHCS' business support services, including, but not limited to, the management of DHCS facilities, assets, fleet, forms, and records, as well as health and safety and emergency response activities. Additionally, the Chief of PSD is responsible for developing and implementing business support-related policies and procedures under the division's purview and ensuring compliance with all applicable laws, regulations, and rules. Applications must be submitted by March 12.
DHCS is also hiring for its financial, managed care, quality and population health management, information technology, and other teams. For more information, please visit the
CalCareers website.
Stakeholder Meetings and Webinars
DHCS posts upcoming public meetings on the
Calendar of Events.
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 DHCS has implemented or is implementing for the Birthing Care Pathway, shares progress to date, and identifies strategic opportunities for further exploration. The Birthing Care Pathway aims 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.
Strong Start & Beyond Partner Webinar
On March 5, from 12 to 12:45 p.m. PST, California Surgeon General Dr. Diana E. Ramos will host the next Strong Start & Beyond
partner webinar (advance registration required) on fitness and nutrition for optimal health.
Strong Start & Beyond is a bold movement to reduce California's maternal mortality rate by 50 percent by December 2026. By leveraging the state's investments and partnerships, Strong Start & Beyond is focused on fostering awareness, encouraging active participation in health, and building access to resources for mothers, pregnant people, and their families. The webinar will feature Fariha Chowdhury, MSc, California Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Director, California Department of Public Health (CDPH); Renata Simril, President and CEO of LA84 Foundation; and Brenda Rea, MD, DrPH, PT, RD, DipABLM, LM Intensivist, Medical Director of Education for the American College of Lifestyle Medicine.
CHCF Briefing on CalAIM Housing Trio
On March 12, from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. PDT, the California Health Care Foundation (CHCF) will hold a
briefing on the California Advancing and Innovating Medi-Cal (CalAIM) housing Community Supports: housing transition navigation services, housing deposits, and housing tenancy and sustaining services, collectively known as the housing trio. Advance registration is required for
in-person (DHCS Auditorium, 1500 Capitol Avenue, Sacramento) or
virtual participation. Panelists include Susan Philip, MPP, DHCS' Deputy Director for Health Care Delivery Systems; Dhakshike Wickrema, MCP, Deputy Secretary of Homelessness, California Business, Consumer Services, and Housing Agency; Cheryl Winter, MPH, LCSW, Associate Director, California State Policy, Corporation for Supportive Housing; and Margot Kushel, MD, Professor of Medicine and Director of Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative, University of California San Francisco.
CalAIM is the state's five-year initiative to improve Medi-Cal. As part of CalAIM, Medi-Cal managed care plans can choose to provide one or more of the 14
Community Supports to address members' health-related social needs. The housing trio are vitally important to people experiencing homelessness. With the addition of transitional rent as a Community Support service on July 1, 2025, Medi-Cal managed care will soon offer 15 Community Supports. The briefing will cover the importance of these services in helping people move from homelessness to housing. CHCF will also moderate a discussion about the role Medi-Cal is playing in California's homelessness response and how that role can be strengthened and improved through critical partnerships across the health, homelessness, and housing sectors.
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, and 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. Please email questions or comments to
MCHAP@dhcs.ca.gov.
Contraception is Health Care Webinar
On March 19, from 12 to 1:30 p.m. PDT, DHCS and the California Prevention Training Center will host the
Contraception is Health Care webinar (advance registration required). This webinar explains why contraception is a vital component of health care for clients and their families. During the webinar, providers will learn how to proactively address contraception stigma and misinformation and how to advocate for contraceptive access among colleagues, clients, and the community. For providers unable to attend the live webinar, a transcript and recording of the webinar will be available on the
Family PACT website at a later date.
In Case You Missed It
Governor Announces Stronger Accountability Measures, Launches New Tool Measuring Local Progress in Tackling Homelessness
As part of the state's ongoing efforts to address the national homelessness crisis, Governor Gavin Newsom recently
announced strong accountability measures for local jurisdictions to demonstrate results to continue receiving state homelessness funding. Governor Newsom also launched a new online tool,
accountability.ca.gov, which brings together thousands of locally reported data points to provide a clear picture of local communities' work on California's most pressing issues, including homelessness, housing, and behavioral health.
Beverlee A. Myers Award for Excellence in Public Health
Nominations for the 2025 Beverlee A. Myers Award for Excellence in Public Health are now open. The award is the highest honor presented annually by CDPH to an individual who has exhibited outstanding leadership and accomplishments in California public health. The award will be presented to the public health professional who best embodies the following characteristics: exemplifies dedication and accomplishment in improving the health status of Californians; demonstrates leadership and collaboration within the public health and health service delivery communities; uses creative methods to promote essential public health services; and is sensitive to addressing the needs of special populations and reducing disparities in health outcomes.
The 2025 award recipient will be recognized and invited to speak at a special in-person awards ceremony in Sacramento scheduled for May 8. Please complete and submit the
nomination form by March 21. Please email your questions to Michael Marks at
commsinternal@cdph.ca.gov.
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 funding opportunities to support the implementation of the new 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. 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.
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.
