DHCS Stakeholder News Update - May 13, 2022
Dear Stakeholders,
The Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) is providing this update of significant developments regarding DHCS programs, as well as guidance related to the COVID-19 public health emergency.
Governor's May Revision
Governor Gavin Newsom proposed a $141.8 billion budget for DHCS programs and services in the next fiscal year. The budget for DHCS supports vital services that reinforce the state's commitment to preserve and improve the overall health and well-being of all Californians while operating within a responsible budgetary structure. Highlights include the new funding for Opioid Settlement Funds state-directed programs, skilled nursing facility financing reform, additional funding for Equity and Practice Transformation Grants with a focus on preparing practices for value-based care including implementing infrastructure, and additional funding for the Health Enrollment Navigators program.
Update on Recovery Incentives: California's Contingency Management Program and Related Incentive Manager Procurement
DHCS remains committed to implementing its contingency management pilot program and expanding access to evidence-based treatment to address the persistent substance use disorder crisis in California. Contingency management is an evidence-based behavioral treatment that provides motivational incentives to reduce the use of stimulants. Contingency management is the only treatment that has demonstrated robust outcomes for individuals with stimulant use disorder, including reduction or cessation of drug use and longer retention in treatment. DHCS will implement its contingency management pilot using an incentive manager vendor.
The pilot was scheduled to begin on July 1, 2022, but inadvertent issues that occurred in DHCS' procurement of an incentive manager have resulted in the Department issuing notice of its intent to cancel the procurement (Invitation for Proposal #22-20047 Contingency Management Incentive Manager) and initiate a new procurement. Additional information will be communicated in the coming weeks.
Although the new procurement will delay implementation of the contingency management benefit until fall 2022, programmatic activities, including training and capacity building for counties and providers, will continue.
PATH Funding for CalAIM Justice-Involved Program
On May 11, DHCS released a draft application template for Round 1 of the Providing Access and Transforming Health (PATH) Justice-Involved Capacity Building Program. Eligible entities will be able to apply for Round 1 funding until July 31.
PATH is a $1.44 billion program approved under the California Advancing and Innovating Medi-Cal (CalAIM) initiative. It provides transitional funding to invest in providers, counties, community-based organizations (CBOs), and other partners to support the state's efforts to maintain, build, and scale the capacity necessary to support and implement key initiatives under CalAIM.
California received funding to support implementation activities focused on pre-release Medi-Cal eligibility and enrollment, as part of the statewide justice-involved initiative. Funding for the PATH Justice-Involved Capacity Building Program will support collaborative planning as well as information technology (IT) system modifications necessary to implement pre-release Medi-Cal application and suspension processes. This program will provide $151 million in funding to correctional agencies, correctional institutions, and county social service departments in two rounds:
- Round 1: A planning grant funding opportunity to provide grants to correctional agencies (or a county entity applying on behalf of a correctional agency) to support collaborative planning with county departments of social services and other enrollment implementation partners to identify processes, protocols, and IT modifications that are necessary to support implementation of pre-release enrollment and suspension processes. The planning grant funding in Round 1 can be used to support development of the application for Round 2 implementation grant funding.
- Round 2: An implementation grant funding opportunity to provide grants to support correctional agencies and county departments of social services as they implement the processes, protocols, and IT system modifications that were identified during the Round 1 planning phase. While entities do not need to participate in Round 1 in order to apply for Round 2 funding, the Round 1 planning grant funds offer an opportunity to support the development of a comprehensive application for Round 2 funding.
DHCS will release a fillable PDF version of this application template in the coming weeks. The non-fillable version is being shared for awareness. Eligible applicants are encouraged to begin drafting responses to the questions while the fillable PDF application template is pending release. Eligible entities will be able to apply for Round 1 funding from the time the application template is released until July 31.
For questions or comments, please email CalAIMJusticePreReleaseApps@dhcs.ca.gov. For additional information, please visit the CalAIM Justice-Involved Initiative webpage.
CalAIM Population Health Management (PHM) – May Meetings
On May 23, DHCS will host a webinar from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. PDT to discuss DHCS' PHM Service. As described in DHCS' recently released Draft PHM Strategy and Roadmap, the PHM Service will support DHCS' vision by:
- Collecting and integrating disparate information.
- Performing key population health management functions.
- Providing authorized users with access to more timely, accurate, and comprehensive data on members' health history and needs.
The webinar will include a discussion of key planned functionalities of the PHM Service as well as time for questions and answers.
On May 31, DHCS will also host the third meeting of the PHM Advisory Group from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. PDT. PHM Advisory Group meetings are open to the public and meeting information and materials will be available on the PHM webpage.
Stakeholders are encouraged to submit questions in advance of the events to CalAIM@dhcs.ca.gov. Advance registration is required for both the PHM Service webinar and the PHM Advisory Group meeting.
DHCS Coverage Ambassadors Webinar
On May 24 and 25, 2022, DHCS will hold two webinars on the DHCS Coverage Ambassador program. Recently, DHCS launched this statewide effort to help Medi-Cal beneficiaries keep their coverage or be enrolled in other coverage. DHCS Coverage Ambassadors are trusted messengers representing diverse organizations that can reach beneficiaries in culturally and linguistically appropriate ways at the local level with targeted, impactful communication.
The webinars will review the DHCS Coverage Ambassador program, its purpose, and the role Ambassadors play in the unwinding of the COVID-19 public health emergency. Interested parties or Ambassadors may choose to register for their preferred session and are not required to attend both sessions.
For more information, please visit the DHCS Coverage Ambassador webpage. Join the DHCS Coverage Ambassador mailing list to receive the latest information and updated toolkits as they become available.
Date: Tuesday, May 24, 2022
Time: 10 a.m. – 11 a.m. PDT
Please register in advance: https://dhcs.webex.com/dhcs/j.php?RGID=r77768ce76d1c07a2ed5dcf2b52630dc1
OR
Date: Wednesday, May 25, 2022
Time: 1 p.m. – 2 p.m. PDT
Please register in advance: https://dhcs.webex.com/dhcs/j.php?RGID=rc01c5e2ad1a54b64eac723e375356b29
ACEs Aware Grant – Letter of Intent Deadline Extended
The UCLA-UCSF ACEs Aware Family Resilience Network (UCAAN), in collaboration with the Office of the California Surgeon General (CA-OSG), DHCS, and Population Health Innovation Lab (PHIL), a program of Public Health Institute (PHI), announced a third round of ACEs Aware grant funding called PRACTICE: Preventing and Responding to ACE-Associated Health Conditions and Toxic Stress in Clinics through Community Engagement.
The original May 13 Letter of Intent deadline for the PRACTICE Request for Proposal (RFP) has been extended to May 25, 2022, at 5 p.m. PDT. Interested applicants must complete the non-binding Letter of Intent form on the online submission portal to be able to submit a response to the RFP. This extension does not change the RFP submission due date of June 13, 2022, at 5 p.m. PDT.
Funded by DHCS with support from CA-OSG, the PRACTICE statewide learning collaborative will support the efforts of clinical teams to address toxic stress in local communities. Up to 30 teams will receive funding, each ranging from $500,000 to $1 million, with the goal of increasing the capacity of Medi-Cal providers, community-based organizations, and Medi-Cal managed care plans to leverage existing and new sources of state funding to:
- Strengthen partnerships to screen for Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) in order to identify clinical risk for and respond to toxic stress.
- Develop sustainable, practical, community-informed, evidence-based services that target toxic stress physiology and ACE-Associated Health Conditions, and support the prevention of ACEs and toxic stress.
- Build a sustainable workforce to support ACE screening, toxic stress response, and prevention of ACEs, toxic stress, and ACE-Associated Health Conditions.
For more information about the RFP, visit the PHIL website.
Published COVID-19 Information
Additional updates will be posted on the DHCS COVID-19 Response page.
