The Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) released its plan
to evaluate California’s new waiver program to strengthen care in
public safety-net hospitals and care systems to solicit public
input while the proposal is reviewed by the Centers for Medicare
and Medicaid Services (CMS). This improvement effort, the Public
Hospital Redesign and Incentives in Medi-Cal (PRIME), is one of
the major initiatives of the Medi-Cal 2020 waiver that CMS
approved in December 2015.
PRIME is designed to expand access and improve health outcomes in
California’s public safety net hospitals and hospital systems
while managing utilization. The Special Terms and Conditions of
the MEdi-Cal 2020 waiver require DHCS to design an evaluation
specifying methods to determine whether PRIME has achieved the
intended program goals and objectives. More information,
including a link to the draft evaluation design, is available
here.
Recent Census Data Shows Drop in Uninsured Rate
California’s uninsured rates continued to drop in 2015, leading
to the uninsured rate falling by half since 2013, according to a
recent report by the California Budget and Policy Center. The
report argues that this drop reflects California’s efforts to
fully implement the reforms of the Affordable Care Act. Read more
about the report and the recent census data
here.
Let’s Get Healthy California Announces Innovation Challenge
2.0
The California Health and Human Services Agency and the
California Department of Public Health announced the second
Innovation Challenge from Let’s Get Healthy California.
Innovation Challenge 2.0 encourages community and health
advocates across California to share ideas and projects that will
help achieve Let’s Get Healthy California’s goal of improving the
health of every Californian. Information on how to submit an
innovation or to learn more about the challenge is available
here. The submission
deadline is October 12, 2016.
