DHCS Comprehensive Quality Strategy
On December 30, 2025, the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) posted the final draft of the 2025 DHCS Comprehensive Quality Strategy (CQS) on the DHCS CQS webpage.
The Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) Managed Care Final Rule (42 CFR 438.340) requires each state Medicaid agency to maintain a written quality strategy to assess and improve the quality of health care and services provided by all Medicaid managed care entities. In response, DHCS has continued to evolve its quality strategy, building on the 2018 and 2022 Medi-Cal Managed Care Quality Strategy reports and the DHCS Strategy for Quality Improvement in Health Care. The 2025 CQS represents the next phase, integrating lessons learned, stakeholder feedback, and recent policy changes to advance quality and health equity for all Medi-Cal beneficiaries.
The 2025 CQS outlines DHCS' comprehensive approach to developing, implementing, and maintaining a quality strategy that encompasses all Medi-Cal delivery systems—managed care, fee-for-service, behavioral health, dental, and other departmental programs. The strategy defines measurable goals, emphasizes the use of CMS Core Set measures, and tracks improvement while adhering to federal and state requirements. It reinforces DHCS' commitment to reducing health disparities and advancing health equity in every aspect of program design and delivery.
The report describes DHCS' quality improvement infrastructure, the development and review process for the CQS, managed care standards and evaluation requirements, continuous program quality improvement, and the state's plan to identify, evaluate, and reduce health disparities. It also defines “significant change" and highlights additional quality improvement efforts in programs outside managed care.
The 2025 CQS highlights DHCS' ongoing delivery system reform efforts, including California Advancing and Innovating Medi-Cal (CalAIM), Behavioral Health Transformation, and new initiatives such as BH-CONNECT. These efforts focus on reducing variation and complexity, managing member risk through population health strategies, and improving quality outcomes through value-based initiatives and payment reform.
Through this updated strategy, DHCS reaffirms its commitment to a coordinated, person-centered, and equitable health system for all Californians.
2025 Quality Strategy Report
2022 Quality Strategy Report
Please visit the
Quality Measures & Reporting webpage for more information about other DHCS quality measures efforts and reports (e.g., monitoring reports and External Quality Review Organization reports).
2018 Quality Strategy Reports
Presentations
External Resources
