Welcome to another special California edition of #ThePossibilists. This issue looks at our ongoing work with the Camden Coalition related to California Advancing and Innovating Medi-Cal (CalAIM). CalAIM is a five-year, $12B plan to transform California’s Medi-Cal program and to make it integrate more seamlessly with other social services.

Monterey and San Benito CalAIM Conversations July 25-26, 2023:

Thank you to the Monterey and San  Benito community  leaders who hosted and joined the Camden Coalition for a series of conversations about CalAIM.

California is moving fast implementing its ambitious CalAIM redesign of the state’s Medi-Cal program.

Q: How do we translate the CalAIM program design into a durable community-based care collaboration model in partnershipwith managed care plans?

A: By engaging with local stakeholders and making these policy changes relevant to the clients and communities they serve.

Interested in hearing our approach to translating CalAIM into a community-based care collaboration? Email me here to discuss.

What We’ve Accomplished So Far

On 08/03/23, CADHCS released its Enhanced Care Management and Community Supports 2022 Implementation Report.This report summarizes ECM and Community Supports implementation trends and data from calendar year 2022. It is based on Quarterly Implementation MonitoringReport submissions as of June 30, 2023.

KEY DATA:

 In the first 12 months:

• 109,004 Medi-Cal members received Enhanced Care Management benefits (40% increase between end of Q1 and end of Q4),

• 36,391 members received 80,859 Community Supports services (160% increase between end of Q1 and end of Q4).

• The most utilized support was housing transition navigation services.

  • More than 40% of members who received Community Supports find, secure, and maintain stable housing.

• The second most utilized support was the housing tenancy and sustaining service.

  • Members were provided with landlord coordination assistance, eviction prevention resources, and the annual housing recertification process.

• The third most utilized support was housing deposit assistance.

  • This helps members pay for housing security deposits, first and last month’s rent, and first month of utilities and related setup fees.

The report includes information about the phased rollout of these programs and efforts underway to support its growth You can read a summary here.

What’s Up Next For CalAIM Implementation?

The Children and Youth Population of Focus (PoF) for Enhanced Care Management went live as of July 2023. There is greater attention being paid to CA’s groundbreaking Medicaid waiver for the Justice-involved population transitioning from incarceration. Additionally, we are seeing growing awareness of the Pregnancy, Postpartum, and Birth Equity (POF). Both POFs roll out January 1, 2024.

Lessons Learned Redux?

As California implements a massive transformation of its Medicaid (Medi-Cal) program, the lessons and cautions of the ACEs screening movement are worth revisiting. Here’s a piece I wrote about lessons learned when applying new models of screening and interventions. It’s a timely reminder about the implications of letting your enthusiasm get ahead of your planning.

Reminder: All Costs for CalAIM TA Requests are covered by DHCS with approval from the TA Marketplace Administrator

You can find the Camden Coalition under on the TA Marketplace. Look under “Hands On” or “Off the Shelf” services.

If you are interested in working with our team, email us at camdenta@camdenhealth.org. We are happy to talk through your needs and explore if we are a good fit as a consulting partner. Our goal is to help you understand and succeed as a CalAIM ECM and Community Supports provider.