Program Updates
Children and Youth Behavioral Health Initiative (CYBHI) – Back to School
On August 22, from 3 to 5 p.m. PDT, DHCS, in partnership with the Sacramento County Office of Education, will host a
public webinar about school-based workstreams as part of the CYBHI. This webinar will cover important decisions and updates across multiple school-based programs, including the
CYBHI Fee Schedule program and
School-Linked Partnership and Capacity Grant Program.
In addition, the California Health & Human Services Agency (CalHHS) issued a
Back to School Month Partner Toolkit that includes social media copy, graphics, and videos to enable schools to promote messages and resources to help support the mental health of young people during back-to-school season. Schools are encouraged to use the toolkit during the back-to-school transition to spread the word about DHCS' two Behavioral Health Virtual Services Platforms that provide free, safe, and confidential mental health support to young people and their families:
BrightLife Kids for children ages 0-12 and their parents or caregivers and
Soluna for young people ages 13-25. For more information, please email
CYBHI@dhcs.ca.gov.
Medi-Cal Reimbursements for Vaccines for Children (VFC) Program
Medi-Cal will reimburse enrolled pharmacy providers under the VFC program for VFC-funded vaccines when provided on and after January 1, 2023, to eligible Medi-Cal members 18 years of age and younger. Medi-Cal-enrolled pharmacy providers must be enrolled in the VFC program to receive reimbursement through Medi-Cal for VFC-funded vaccines for members 18 years of age and younger. The cost of the vaccines will not be reimbursed since vaccines are supplied free under the VFC program. Pharmacy providers can bill three different services for reimbursement: vaccine administration fee, professional dispensing fee, and pharmacist services (consultation and assessment [vaccine initiation] fee).
Pharmacists not enrolled in Medi-Cal as an ordering, rendering, and prescribing (ORP) provider may bill for a vaccine administration fee if the prescriber whose National Provider Identifier is submitted on the claim to Medi-Cal Rx is enrolled as a Medi-Cal provider. To bill for pharmacist services, the pharmacist must be an enrolled Medi-Cal ORP provider.
For more detailed guidance, please refer to
Medi-Cal Reimbursement of VFC-Enrolled Pharmacy Providers and for VFC and Non-VFC Vaccines – Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) or the Medi-Cal Rx Alert,
Coming Soon: Medi-Cal Reimbursement for VFC-Enrolled Providers.
Join Our Team
DHCS is seeking a highly skilled, exceptionally motivated individual to serve as:
- Assistant Deputy Director for Health Care Financing to assist in leading the planning, implementation, coordination, evaluation, and management of DHCS' health care financing programs and policies. (Final filing date: August 21)
- Chief of the Office of Family Planning to lead the Family Planning, Access, Care, and Treatment (FPACT) program, which provides family planning services for low-income individuals and families. The Chief also develops and implements complex and sensitive policies related to FPACT, family planning, and sexual and reproductive health services in the Medi-Cal program. (Final filing date: September 4)
DHCS is also hiring for its
legislative and governmental affairs, human resources, auditing, health policy, information technology, and other teams. For more information, please visit the
CalCareers website.
Upcoming Stakeholder Meetings and Webinars
Population Health Management Webinar: Supporting Medi-Cal Members with Long-Term Services and Supports (LTSS) Needs
On August 21, from 12 to 1 p.m. PDT, DHCS will host a
webinar on improving services and supports for members with LTSS needs during care transitions, such as moving from a hospital to a skilled nursing facility or from a facility to a home (advance registration required). Managed care plans are responsible for ensuring members are supported from discharge planning process through connecting them to all needed services and supports. Given the variety and complexity of available services for the LTSS population across Medi-Cal, stakeholders requested technical assistance to ensure successful transitions into the least restrictive level of care.
This webinar will focus on how Community Supports, Enhanced Care Management, and transitional care services can best support members during and after periods of transition. Guest speakers Anwar Zouehid, Vice President of LTSS at Partners in Care Foundation, and Chris Esguerra, Chief Medical Officer of Health Plan of San Mateo, will share promising practices and discuss new resources, including the
Enhanced Care Management Long-Term Care Population of Focus Spotlight and the forthcoming transitional care services technical assistance resource guide for members with LTSS needs.
CalAIM Justice-Involved Initiative Learning Collaborative Series
On August 22, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. PDT, DHCS will launch a virtual learning collaborative series for partners involved in implementing the California Advancing and Innovating Medi-Cal (CalAIM) justice-involved initiative. The series will cover waiver requirements, best practices, and implementation strategies. Implementation partners will receive a registration link via email, and sessions will be recorded for future access on the
DHCS Justice-Involved Initiative webpage.
Topics include the justice-involved screening portal, short-term care model, billing and claiming, Enhanced Care Management, warm hand-offs, auto-assignments, and pharmacy policy. There will be facilitated breakout discussions for correctional facilities, county partners, and Medi-Cal managed care plans. DHCS will host office hours the week after each session.
The series is for county jails (Sheriff's Office staff and correctional health care services partners); youth correctional facilities (probation staff and associated correctional health care services providers); managed care plans; county behavioral health agencies; and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. DHCS also encourages county partners to invite Enhanced Care Management providers and reentry providers, as well as any other key implementation partners. For more information, email DHCS at
CalAIMJusticeAdvisoryGroup@dhcs.ca.gov.
Tribal and Indian Health Program Representatives Meeting
On August 26, from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. PDT, DHCS will host the quarterly tribal and Indian health program representatives' meeting in Sacramento. The meeting offers tribal and Indian health program representatives an open forum to provide feedback on DHCS initiatives that have a specific impact on tribes, Indian health programs, and American Indian Medi-Cal members. The invitation and agenda are posted on the
Indian Health Program webpage. Other meeting materials will be posted as they become available.
Behavioral Health Services Act Revenue and Stability Workgroup Meeting
On August 27, from 1 to 3 p.m. PDT, DHCS will host the
Behavioral Health Services Act Revenue and Stability Workgroup meeting at DHCS, 1500 Capitol Avenue, Room 72.168, Sacramento, or via webinar. The meeting's purpose is to assess year-over-year fluctuations in tax revenues generated by the Behavioral Health Services Act, in recognition of the need for a reliable strategy for short-term and long-term fiscal stability. Public comments are welcome. Learn more about DHCS'
Behavioral Health Transformation.
CalAIM Managed LTSS and Duals Integration Workgroup Meeting
On August 29 at 12 p.m. PDT, DHCS will host the virtual
CalAIM Managed Long-Term Services and Supports (MLTSS) and Duals Integration Workgroup meeting (advanced registration required). The workgroup serves as a stakeholder collaboration hub for CalAIM MLTSS and integrated care for dual eligible members and allows stakeholders to provide feedback and share information about policy, operations, and strategy for upcoming changes to Medi-Cal and Medicare.
Background materials, transcripts, and video recordings of the previous workgroup meetings, along with additional information about the workgroup, are posted on the
CalAIM MLTSS and Duals Integration Workgroup webpage. For questions or comments, please email
info@calduals.org.
SB 770 – Health Care Financing - Public Input Meeting
On August 30, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. PDT, CalHHS and UCLA Center for Health Policy Research will host a
public webinar on
SB 770 (Chapter 412, Statutes of 2023), which requires CalHHS to develop a federal waiver framework for and submit a report on a unified health care financing system in California, in consultation with stakeholders. CalHHS contracted with the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research to research and draft an interim report. UCLA will present its initial research and key design issues. Participants will be able to comment on the interim report. Additional public feedback may be provided by emailing
SB770publiccomment@chhs.ca.gov.
DHCS Harm Reduction Summits
Registration is currently open for the first two DHCS Harm Reduction Summits in Shasta County (October 24) and San Mateo County (November 19). Through these convenings, DHCS hopes to collaborate with communities across the state to change the culture around the concept of harm reduction within California's substance use disorder treatment system and to create low-barrier, patient-centered care. DHCS encourages substance use disorder treatment providers and staff (including social workers, peers, front desk staff, case managers, nurses, physicians, and all staff in substance use disorder treatment settings) to attend and learn about best practices for incorporating the tenets of harm reduction into substance use disorder treatment settings. The remaining summits will be in Fresno County, Los Angeles County, and San Diego County in winter 2025. Register on the
event website.
In Case You Missed It
CalAIM Dashboard Update
On August 9, DHCS posted an update to the public-facing CalAIM
dashboards that promote transparency and demonstrate the impact, progress, and key opportunity areas of CalAIM. This update includes a new dental initiative
dashboard that highlights CalAIM initiatives to improve oral health outcomes. It also refreshes data and enhances features in existing dashboards, which will continue to be updated regularly and will expand to include additional quality measures, demographic data, and initiatives as more data become available.
Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) 1915(C) Waiver for the Developmentally Disabled and 1915(I) State Plan Amendments – 30-Day Public Comment Period
On August 2, the Department of Developmental Services (DDS), in partnership with DHCS, posted a proposed amendment to the HCBS 1915(c) waiver and the HCBS 1915(i) State Plan Amendment (SPA) for a 30-day public comment period, prior to submitting the final versions to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services for approval.
The HCBS 1915(c) waiver amendment and 1915(i) SPA would implement the next round of rate increases associated with rate reform effective on January 1, 2025. Additionally, the waiver amendment and SPA would add a new service (person-centered future planning) along with a corresponding provider type and payment methodology, increase rates for financial management service providers, and include new provider personal assistance to community living arrangement services with the opportunity for participants to manage their own services.
All comments must be received by September 1, 2024. DDS and DHCS invite all interested parties to review the amendment and comment instructions on the
DDS HCBS Programs webpage. If you have any questions, or to comment on the waiver amendment and/or SPA, please email
federal.programs@dds.ca.gov.
Critical Funding Opportunity Available to Expand Behavioral Health Services
On July 17, DHCS
released the Bond Behavioral Health Continuum Infrastructure Program (BHCIP) Round 1: Launch Ready
Request for Applications. Eligible organizations can apply for funding to construct, acquire, and rehabilitate properties for behavioral health services for Medi-Cal members. DHCS will award up to $3.3 billion in grants to projects that expand community-based behavioral health facilities and services. This funding aims to address significant treatment gaps by improving access to behavioral health care.
Interested parties can find application instructions on the BHCIP website and submit their applications by December 13, 2024. This initiative, part of Proposition 1, seeks to transform California's mental health and substance use disorder systems, providing more comprehensive care for the state's most vulnerable populations. For more information, contact DHCS at BHTinfo@dhcs.ca.gov.
