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.

A core element of all Medicaid Section 1115 “research and demonstration” waivers is an evaluation of the demonstration program and its efficacy in meeting the demonstration’s goals. Historically, however, Section 1115 waiver evaluations have been an afterthought for states and CMS, limiting their ability to inform future Medicaid policy and financing approaches.

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.

Last year, Aurrera Health Group teamed up with the California Department of Health Care Services to provide early education and targeted technical assistance for providers on implementing Enhanced Care Management and Community Support services, two key parts of the CalAIM initiative. This experience revealed several promising practices for other states pursuing whole-person approaches to health care delivery.

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’s Federally Qualified Health Centers experienced many financial challenges as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) are a critical provider of health care, particularly for communities of color and Medicaid beneficiaries. It is vital that health centers are financially and operationally stable so they can continue to effectively provide patients with primary care, behavioral health, and dental services.

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.

Prepared for the California Health Care Foundation by Aurrera Health Group and Capital Link, this paper identifies several key factors that enabled California’s health centers to manage the financial strain exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic while continuing to serve patients at a time when accessing health care involved new and unanticipated challenges.

Prepared for the DHCS and CDSS CalAIM Workgroup, this report explores ways to better integrate services, provide a single contact for children, and ensure access to specialty care in the child welfare system.

The enhanced care management benefit (ECM) and in lieu of services (ILOS) proposed under the California Advancing and Innovating Medi-Cal (CalAIM) proposal build upon the successes of California’s 25 Whole Person Care (WPC) pilots.