DHCS Stakeholder News - October 27, 2023
Top News
California Awards Tribal Entities $25 Million for Behavioral Health Bridge Housing
California is investing more than $25 million in tribal entities through DHCS' Behavioral Health Bridge Housing (BHBH) Program. Funding will be focused on addressing homelessness and the behavioral health issues impacting tribal communities across the state. These awards will enable entities to make connections and establish resources vital to their communities. BHBH Program settings include access to services to help program participants manage symptoms of serious behavioral health conditions, obtain and maintain permanent housing, and support recovery and wellness. Read more in DHCS' news release.
Program Updates
Additional Medi-Cal Eligibility Federal Flexibility Approved
On October 24, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) approved DHCS' request for federal waiver authority to help streamline the processing of annual Medi-Cal eligibility renewals and ease burdens on county program administrators and Medi-Cal members. The flexibility temporarily accepts the self-attestation of income at renewal when a member returns a renewal form with a new attestation of income, but fails to include documentation or a reasonable explanation of the discrepancy. This flexibility will streamline renewal processing for Medi-Cal members, especially vulnerable populations, and ease burdens to providing additional paperwork or documentation during the continuous coverage unwinding period. The waiver is effective on October 1 and will continue throughout the unwinding period. DHCS will issue policy guidance to counties on operationalizing the flexibility.
Standing Recommendation for Doula Services
Effective November 1, DHCS will issue a statewide standing recommendation that all Medi-Cal members who are pregnant, or were pregnant within the past year, would benefit from receiving doula services from a Medi-Cal enrolled doula provider. The standing recommendation fulfills federal requirements for a physician or other licensed practitioner of the healing arts to recommend preventive services. The standing recommendation authorizes the following services: one initial visit; up to eight additional visits that may be provided in any combination of prenatal and postpartum visits; support during labor and delivery, including labor and delivery resulting in a stillbirth, abortion, or miscarriage; and up to two extended three-hour postpartum visits after the end of a pregnancy. The standing recommendation will be posted on the Doula Services as a Medi-Cal Benefit webpage by November 3.
DHCS Honors Native American Heritage Month
Starting the week of October 30, DHCS will post social media messages to lift Native American Heritage Month to honor the rich cultures, traditions, and contributions of Native Americans, while also acknowledging the important strides being made to improve their health status. The posts on DHCS channels will highlight urban and tribal health clinics and partners, tribal Medication Assisted Treatment projects, and the restoration of Indian Health Program grants in fiscal year 2022-23 to improve the health and well-being of American Indians.
Join Our Team
DHCS is hiring! DHCS has an opportunity for Chief of the Financial Management Division within Fiscal (final filing date is November 15). This executive role develops policies and procedures to ensure fiscal integrity, transparency, and accountability of approximately $150 billion in annual state and federal funding for DHCS.
DHCS is also hiring for our fiscal, human resources, legal, auditing, health policy, and information technology teams. For more information, please visit the CalCareers website.
DHCS' purpose is to provide equitable access to quality health care leading to a healthy California for all. DHCS' goals and objectives reflect DHCS' tremendous work to transform the state's health care system and strengthen organizational excellence.
Upcoming Stakeholder Meetings and Webinars
Behavioral Health Continuum Infrastructure Program (BHCIP) Listening Session
On October 30, DHCS will host a BHCIP listening session open to the public, including counties, tribal entities, and nonprofit and for-profit organizations. The listening session will provide a program update on BHCIP Round 6, Part I: Unmet Needs and allow eligible applicants to provide input on planning and implementation. This remaining BHCIP round of funding will be divided into two parts and totals $480.7 million. For Round 6, Part I, a program update is anticipated to be issued in November, followed by a Request for Application (RFA) in January 2024. Round 6, Part II may follow the same timeframe in November 2025-January 2026.
BHCIP provides DHCS with funding to award a total of $2.2 billion through six rounds of competitive grants to qualified entities to construct, acquire, and rehabilitate real estate assets, or to invest in mobile crisis infrastructure, to expand the community continuum of behavioral health treatment resources. Please email any questions to BHCIP@dhcs.ca.gov.
Children and Youth Behavioral Health Initiative (CYBHI) All-Payer Fee Schedule
On October 30, DHCS, in collaboration with the Department of Managed Health Care (DMHC), will virtually hold a workgroup session to inform the development of the statewide all-payer fee schedule for school-based behavioral health services under the CYBHI. Through this workgroup, DHCS and DMHC will engage partners representing K-12 education, institutions of higher education, Medi-Cal managed care plans (MCP), commercial health plans, county behavioral health departments, behavioral health providers, associations, advocates, youth, and parents/caregivers on a variety of policy and operational topics to help inform the development and refinement of the program design.
The fee schedule will include a set of medically necessary outpatient mental health or substance use disorder treatment provided to a student 25 years of age or younger, at a school site or near a school site, and the development of a school-linked statewide provider network of school site behavioral health counselors.
CalAIM Data Sharing Authorization Guidance (DSAG) 2.0 Webinar
On October 30 at 10:30 a.m., DHCS will host an all-comer webinar on the updated California Advancing and Innovating Medi-Cal (CalAIM) DSAG 2.0 (advanced registration is required). This document was created to provide guidance on data sharing under the CalAIM provisions of Assembly Bill (AB) 133, a 2021 law that makes it easier for a wide range of providers to share data for the purposes of implementing CalAIM. The webinar will include an overview of the CalAIM DSAG; key privacy laws applicable to CalAIM to help Medi-Cal partners understand applicable privacy and consent laws across four key areas of data privacy; AB 133's data sharing provisions and related guidance; consent and authorizations; and data sharing use case scenario examples.
All Medi-Cal MCPs, tribal health programs, health care providers, community-based social and human service organizations and providers, local health jurisdictions, correctional facility health care providers, and county and other public agencies that provide services and manage care for individuals enrolled in Medi-Cal are invited to attend.
Medi-Cal Children's Health Advisory Panel (MCHAP) Meeting
On November 2, DHCS will host the next MCHAP hybrid meeting (advance registration required) at The California Endowment (1414 K Street, Sacramento). Meeting materials will be posted on the MCHAP webpage closer to the meeting date. If you are interested in receiving information about meetings or have general inquiries, please email MCHAP@dhcs.ca.gov.
Keep Your Community Covered: Schools and Families
On November 16, from 2 to 3 p.m., DHCS will hold a webinar on Keep Your Community Covered: Schools and Families (advance registration required). The webinar will provide school partners with important information to assist students and their families with renewing Medi-Cal coverage. The webinar will also highlight available outreach resources, how to use the resources, and best practices for engaging families with school age children.
Medi-Cal Asset Elimination Webinar
On November 29, from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m., DHCS will hold a webinar on the elimination of assets for non-Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI) Medi-Cal programs, effective January 1, 2024. When implemented, this initiative will eliminate the asset test for all non-MAGI programs, including long-term care and Medicare Savings Programs. The webinar will provide background information on the asset elimination, implementation planning, procedural changes, and outreach materials. More information is available on the Asset Limit Changes for Non-MAGI Medi-Cal webpage.
In Case You Missed It
Section 1115 Demonstrations: BH-CONNECT and CalAIM Transitional Rent Amendment
On October 20, DHCS submitted to CMS the new Section 1115 demonstration request, entitled the California Behavioral Health Community-Based Organized Networks of Equitable Care and Treatment (BH-CONNECT) demonstration, and the proposed amendment to the CalAIM Section 1115 demonstration related to transitional rent services.
Additionally, CMS announced today that the federal public comment period will be open for BH-CONNECT and CalAIM transitional rent services from October 27 through November 26, 2023.
Supporting Health Care Professionals Serving Underserved Communities
On October 25, DHCS and Physicians for a Healthy California announced a new commitment of $73.4 million to help pay down student loans for 266 physicians and 36 dentists in California to expand the health care workforce and increase access for Medi-Cal members. The CalHealthCares student loan repayment program supports and incentivizes physicians and dentists to increase their participation in the Medi-Cal program. Funding provided by CalHealthCares has relieved these providers of the burden of student loan debt, improving access to care and supporting underserved communities.
January 2024 Medi-Cal MCP Transition
As part of Medi-Cal transformation, some MCPs are changing on January 1, 2024, and approximately 1.2 million members will have new health plan options and/or will need to transition to new MCPs. Changing MCPs will not affect Medi-Cal member coverage or benefits. Members who transition to a new MCP are receiving notices about the transition. DHCS has developed several resources to support members, providers, and other stakeholders with the transition, including the Managed Care Plan Transition Member webpage with a county “lookup" tool, links to member notices sent by Medi-Cal about MCP changes, frequently asked questions, and a Contact Us page for members to learn more about health plans and provider choices. There are also transition resources for providers and MCPs and stakeholders. More information about the transition is available in the 2024 Managed Care Plan Transition Policy Guide and Medi-Cal Eligibility Division Information Letter Number I 23-54.
