HHS Policy Committee Meeting, November 4

The Health and Human Services Policy Committee will be meeting from 10 to 11 a.m. on Wednesday, November 4. The agenda includes:

• California Hospital Association Quality Assurance Fee Initiative – ACTION ITEM
• An 1115 Medicaid Waiver Update
• IHSS Overtime Court Ruling
• Jail Medi-Cal Program Implementation Update

If you are interested in becoming a member of the Health and Human Services Policy Committee, please email Amanda Yang at ayang@counties.org with your contact information, including name, title, county, phone, email, and mailing address.

Federal Criminal Justice and Behavioral Health Grants and Workshop

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)) is offering a one-and-a-half day Sequential Intercept Mapping workshop to help local, multidisciplinary teams facilitate collaboration between the criminal justice, mental health and substance use treatment systems.

While SAMHSA is offering the workshop free of charge, communities must apply and be selected. Once selected, all costs associated with the workshop will be covered by SAMHSA’s GAINS Center.

To apply, applications must be submitted no later than Friday, December 4.

NACo Holds Congressional Briefing on Behavioral Health

On Wednesday, the National Association of Counties (NACo) and the National Association of County Behavioral Health and Developmental Disability Directors (NACBHDD) hosted a Congressional briefing on improving America’s County Behavioral Health System. Congressional Members Doris Matsui (California), Tim Murphy (Pennsylvania), and Paul Tonko (New York) participated in the briefing.

In conjunction with the briefing, NACo and NACBHDD released a one-pager summarizing why behavioral health matters for counties. The briefing can be viewed here.

UC Berkeley Labor Center Report: “Lessons from the Medi-Cal Expansion Frontlines”

The newly released UC Berkeley Labor Center report: “Lessons from the Medi-Cal Expansion Frontlines” is based on research conducted using eight focus groups and key informants from 26 organizations – including CSAC. Key findings of the report – some of which are already being implemented – address the need for:

• More training to improve effectiveness and consistency in implementing eligibility policy.
• Improved communication with and between DHCS and Covered California, and between counties and enrollment entities at the local level.
• Assistance in defining the limits of local and state responsibilities and to what extent resources are needed as consumer questions arise.
• A combined and simplified application allowable under the ACA.
• Eligibility determinations to be clearly communicated to the applicants.
• Written communication to applicants should be at an appropriate reading level and accurately translated.
• Enrollment of populations with limited English proficiency can be improved with increased community partnerships and more bilingual staff.