Behavioral Health Initiative

Strengthening mental health and substance abuse use disorder services and better integrating them with physical health care.

Community Supports

Helps members address unmet basic needs that can impact their health, whether they're clinical or non-clinical. These include support to secure and maintain housing and access to medically tailored meals to support short term recovery.

Dental Initiative

Expanding dental benefits for children and those with conditions that are more likely to lead to dental disease.

Enhanced Care Management (ECM)

Providing high-need members with in-person care where they live.

Incentive Payment Program

Medi-Cal is supporting the implementation of ECM, Community Supports and other initiatives to Medi-Cal managed care plans to invest in improving the quality of care, reducing health disparities, and promoting health equity. 

Integrated Care for Dual Eligible Members

Better integrating care for members who are dually enrolled in both Medicare and Medi-Cal.

Justice-Involved Initiative

Providing services to justice-involved adults and youth while they are incarcerated, and as they re-enter their communities.

Population Health Management

Medi-Cal is requiring managed care plans (MCPs) to use a concentrated approach to improving the health outcomes of a group of individuals. 

Providing Access and Transforming Health (PATH)

PATH funds are an investment in the capacity and infrastructure of local community-based organizations to provide services to Medi-Cal members in their communities. 

Statewide Managed Long-Term Care 

Introducing a better way to coordinate care for those with very complex or long-term care needs.

Supporting Health and Opportunity for Children and Families

Improving the health of children in California, supporting their families, reducing disparities in care, and strengthening accountability and oversight of children's services.

(1) Implement a new leadership structure and engagement approach:

• Identify a DHCS child health champion who will be accountable for strengthening Medi-Cal’s role in serving children and overseeing implementation of Medi-Cal’s Strategy to Support Health and Opportunity for Children and Families (new)
• Engage with stakeholders to ensure that family voices help shape policy
• Create a new DHCS Consumer Advisory Committee (new) 

(2) Strengthen the coverage base for California’s children:

• Reduce Medi-Cal premiums to zero for families to make coverage more accessible (new)
• Expand presumptive eligibility to make it easier for children to be quickly and efficiently enrolled in Medi-Cal (new)

(3) Fortify the pediatric preventive and primary care foundation:

• Design and implement a new population health management strategy to establish clear, enforceable requirements for plans to identify and serve children in need of care coordination (new)
• Conduct an education and outreach campaign regarding Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnostic and Treatment for enrollees, providers, and managed care plans (MCPs) to support families (new)
• Implement changes to improve the criteria and procedures used to determine when children will receive behavioral health services, including specialty mental health and substance use disorder treatment (new)

(4) Strengthen access to pediatric vaccinations:

• Develop a Vaccines For Children (VFC) Strategic Plan with CDPH to ensure that there is a comprehensive effort to maximize the catch up of vaccinations, distribute vaccines, and support family engagement (new)
• Increase vaccination of pregnant individuals enrolled in Medi-Cal (new)

(5) Enhance accountability for high-quality and equitable care for children:

• Support MCP and local education agency partnerships in delivering a statewide continuum of care by requiring MCPs to provide Medi-Cal services, including preventive services and adolescent health services provided in schools or by school-affiliated health providers (new)
• Enhance and sustain payments to pediatric providers to increase use of key preventive and screening services for children and families (new)
• Streamline DHCS pediatric dashboards to enhance transparency and increase usability (new)

(6) Apply a family-centered approach:

• Clarify family therapy as a behavioral health benefit
• Develop a strategic plan with CDPH and CDSS partners to maximize enrollment of eligible Medi-Cal children and families into the CalFresh program and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) (new)
• Partner with DDS to better support children who have both an intellectual developmental disability (IDD) diagnosis and behavioral health need (new)

(7) Address the child and adolescent behavioral health crisis:

Children and Youth Behavioral Health Initiative (CYBHI)

• Provide grants to expand evidence-based, community-defined behavioral health programs and practices for children and youth. Also provide direct grants to build infrastructure partnerships and capacity statements to increase school-based behavioral health services
• Implement the Behavioral Health Continuum Infrastructure Program, which includes expanding treatment facilities for children and families
• Launch pediatric primary care training for managing behavioral health conditions, including targeted strategies for adolescent behavioral health conditions
• Conduct a public education campaign that is culturally and linguistically appropriate to reduce stigma surrounding the use of behavioral health services (implemented by CDPH and the Office of the Surgeon General)
• Implement a Medi-Cal managed care incentive program to increase access to preventive, early intervention, and behavioral health services provided by school affiliated health providers

(8) Next steps on the foster care model of care:

• Continue to work with California Department of Social Services and stakeholders to develop a new model of care centered on establishing an accountability framework across systems, advancing equity, and integrating services and care