Health and Human Services at the CSAC Annual Meeting
CSAC’s 120th Annual Meeting is next week, November 17 – 20.
The following events will be of particular interest to the health
and human services sector:
The Health and Human Services Policy Committee will meet on
Tuesday, November 18 at 2:30 p.m. and will discuss Orange
County’s “Eat. Play. Breathe.” campaign, the Section 1115 Waiver,
Medi-Cal Eligibility, IHSS, Relative Caregivers, and CSAC’s HHS
platforms.
On Wednesday, November 19 at 9:00 a.m. CSAC will host the
“Treating the Whole Person” Workshop where experts will explore
the concept of Whole Person Care in the context of California’s
upcoming federal 1115 Medicaid Waiver Renewal and discuss
promising practices demonstrated by counties.
CSAC will also host an “Affordable Care Act” Workshop on
Wednesday, November 19 at 1:30 p.m., where our panel of experts
will reflect on successes and challenges and look to the future
of health care in California.
Medi-Cal Enrollment
On October 30, the Senate Committee on Health convened an
oversight hearing on the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to update
legislators and the public about lessons learned from the first
year of enrollment into Covered California and Medi-Cal coverage
under the ACA.
In Department of Health Care Services Director Toby Douglas’
program update, he reported that 11.3 million Californians –
roughly 30 percent of the state’s population – are currently
enrolled in the Medi-Cal program. Director Douglas also
recognized that the current renewal response rate for the roughly
8.6 million Californians who were enrolled prior to October 2013,
is only 50 to 60 percent, down from roughly 70 percent in
previous years. This could result in approximately 2.5 million
individuals being dropped from Medi-Cal; however there may be a
boost in enrollment as Covered California’s open enrollment
begins this weekend (see below).
Covered California’s second open enrollment period is set to
begin on Saturday, November 15. The enrollment period will
conclude on February 15, 2015. A number of organizations have
developed material to assist with outreach to ensure people
enroll and re-enroll in the Covered California products,
including the California Association of Health Plans (CAHP). CAHP
released a new guide to help consumers navigate through this
second enrollment period. The guide and other resources are
linked below:
