In a
report released on Tuesday, the California State Auditor
(CSA) found that the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) is
still not doing enough to ensure that children in Medi-Cal
receive preventive health services. This release is a follow-up
to CSA’s 2019
report which included recommendations to improve DHCS’s
oversight of health plans’ provision of children’s preventive
health services. CSA found that DHCS has made progress
implementing that audit’s recommendations, but has yet to
fully implement eight of the 14
recommendations made, and many of DHCS’s efforts were placed
on hold during the COVID-19 pandemic.
As part of DHCS’s
official response to the audit report, it stated, “Preventive
health services for children in Medi-Cal is a priority for DHCS;
however, DHCS and our partners have continued to be focused on
appropriate response to the unprecedented COVID-19 public health
emergency as well as its impending end and unwinding to ensure
minimum disruption to the one in three Californians who rely on
DHCS for their vital health services.” DHCS agrees with seven of
CSA’s eight recommendations and has prepared corrective action
plans for implementation.
