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- Access and Managed Care Final Rules
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Behind the Numbers: What is Driving Continued HCBS Rebalancing?
New Methadone Flexibilities Can Help States Respond to the Opioid Crisis
New Peer Support Services Benefit to Leverage Providers’ Lived Experience to Support Medi-Cal Members
Sowing Seeds of Change: Promising Early Results from California’s Medication Assisted Treatment Program
California’s Efforts to Facilitate Access to Medi-Cal Mental Health Services
Californians, like the rest of the country, are facing significant mental health challenges in the aftermath of the pandemic. The need for new and enhanced behavioral health supports and interventions has come into strong focus in recent years and states are leveraging their Medicaid programs to respond.
CalHOPE: A New Sustainable Model of Care
Thanks to tireless advocacy combined with impressive outcomes data, funding was allocated in the California state budget to support the continuation of the program. This is a prime example of how initial federal investments can ultimately lead to long-term sustainability of successful programs.
New Video Series Tells Stories of ACEs Aware in Action
When Aurrera Health launched the ACEs Aware initiative on behalf of the California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) and the Office of the California Surgeon General (CA-OSG) in late 2019, we knew we were on the forefront of change.
ARPA Funds are Helping States Shore Up the Health Care Workforce
States are leveraging American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) dollars to support a multi-faceted policy approach to strengthening state health care infrastructure and the health workforce.
REPORT: Substance Use in California: Prevalence and Treatment
The health care system is moving toward acknowledging substance use disorders (SUD) as chronic illnesses, yet only about 10% of people with an SUD in the last year received treatment.
California Pursues Addition of Peer Support Specialist Services to List of Med-Cal-Covered Behavioral Health Services
California is Becoming ACEs Aware: 130,000 Medi-Cal Beneficiaries Screened in Year 1
Since the fall of 2019, Aurrera Health Group has been working closely with the Office of the California Surgeon General (CA-OSG) and the California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) to launch the ACEs Aware initiative – a first-in-the-nation, statewide effort to promote screening for early detection of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and mitigate against the health and societal impacts of ACEs and toxic stress.
Medi-Cal is Expanding Substance Use Disorder Treatment and Access to Care
California’s Public Hospitals are Improving Quality and Health Outcomes through PRIME
By Trish Violett, Junior Policy Consultant and Megan Thomas, Director, Quality Initiatives
Over the past four years, the 52 hospitals and health systems participating in the California Public Hospital Redesign and Incentives in Medi-Cal (PRIME) program have been working to improve care delivery and maximize health care value through a “pay-for-performance” model. The PRIME hospitals are using evidence-based quality improvement methods to achieve designated goals and outcomes on select clinical projects and associated performance metrics.
California Saves Lives with the Naloxone Distribution Project
Strategies for Coordinating Behavioral Health Care for California Dual Eligibles
By Lilly Clements, Junior Policy Consultant and Megan Thomas, Associate Director
Since 2014, the Cal MediConnect (CMC) program has coordinated care for some of the most vulnerable Californians. CMC was developed by the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to better serve dual eligible beneficiaries – those enrolled in both Medicare and Medi-Cal (Medicaid in California).
A primary focus of CMC is to better coordinate behavioral health care service delivery for members. This week, DHCS released a report entitled “Improving Behavioral Health Integration and Coordination for Cal MediConnect (CMC) Members,” which details the complexities and nuances of CMC plans’ efforts to integrate behavioral health into the care delivery system for dual eligible beneficiaries.
Promoting Medication Assisted Treatment in Residential Treatment Facilities
