Both waivers are requested for a period starting January 1, 2022
through December 31, 2026. Additional pieces of CalAIM, including
a possible waiver request to eliminate or modify the federal
Institutes for Mental Disease (IMD) exclusion, may be submitted
next June or later.
CalAIM provides critical funding for county-run public hospitals
and will modernize the reimbursement system for county specialty
mental health services. While CSAC is broadly supportive of
CalAIM, members remain concerned about the role of counties in
its implementation, including coordinating with existing county
efforts, allowing counties the right of first refusal to
coordinate Enhanced Care Management and In Lieu of Services
benefits, and allowing counties to be directly eligible for
incentives.
The Legislature is also advancing two policy bills (AB
1132 [Wood] and
SB 256 [Pan]) to authorize and implement CalAIM, and work
will begin in earnest on those efforts in August when the
legislative session reconvenes. Note that California can’t
implement CalAIM until it negotiates the terms and conditions of
the waivers and receives final approval from CMS, hopefully by
December 31 of this year.
