Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Chair Janice Hahn joined
Governor Newsom in Downey to announce the County’s
participation in the Governor’s California Pharmaceutical
Collaborative, which allows the state to partner with local
governments and other entities to bargain on bulk prescription
drug purchases and potentially save on drug prices.
Over the past week, both the Senate and Assembly Budget
Subcommittees on Health and Human Services have held hearings on
the Governor’s Budget proposals for, and potential investments
in, the child welfare system. The County Welfare Directors
Association of California (CWDA), working with county affiliates
and other partner organizations, is leading the way on many of
these proposed investments. CSAC is working diligently to convey
our support for the below child welfare budget augmentation
requests and shared our strong support at the recent budget
hearings.
The Senate Budget Subcommittee Number 3 will hear a proposal from
a coalition of county associations seeking $68 million in State
funding to bolster the local public guardian, public conservator,
and public administrator workforce to better serve the most
vulnerable adults in our communities.
Counties are pleased to welcome Michelle Cabrera as the new
Executive Director of the County Behavioral Health Directors
Association (CBHDA). The CBHDA Executive Director Search
Committee, which was comprised of behavioral health directors and
included CSAC Executive Director Graham Knaus, announced the
news this week after 10 months of searching.
The California Association of Public Hospitals and Health
Systems and the California Health Care Safety Net
Institute released their
brief on California’s value-based approach to health care
coverage. This value-based approach focuses on the value of
safety-net payments over the volume, leading to improved health
outcomes.
The Governor’s office recently
announced the appointment of Dr. Mark Ghaly as the new
Secretary of the California Health and Human Services Agency, and
the reappointment of Michelle Baass as the undersecretary.
The Assembly Budget Subcommittee with jurisdiction over housing
funding held a joint informational hearing with the Assembly
Local Government and Housing and Community Development Committees
on February 26 to review the Governor’s housing and homelessness
budget proposals for 2019-20. CSAC testified to offer the county
government perspective.
Recently the Assembly Human Services Committee, chaired by
Assembly member Eloise Gómez Reyes, convened an
informational hearing on the Assembly Bill 1299 (Chapter 603,
Statutes of 2016) implementation efforts. Over the past four
years, the Administration, Legislature, and stakeholders have
enacted legislation and program changes to improve foster youth
outcomes, such as, AB 403 (Chapter 773, Statutes of 2015 ) the
Continuum of Care Reform (CCR) and AB 1299 “Presumptive
Transfer.”
The Assembly Health Committee, Assembly Budget Subcommittee 1 on
Health and Human Services, Senate Health Committee, and Budget
Subcommittee 3 on Health and Human Services met in a joint
informational hearing on February 12, 2019 to discuss the
problem of health care affordability in California and potential
solutions.
Peter Lee, Covered California’s Executive Director and Ryan
Woolsey, Legislative Analyst’s Office Principal Fiscal and Policy
Analyst presented options to improve affordability. Links to both
reports can be found below.
The California Department of Social Services, Continuum of Care
Reform Branch is hosting a webinar about a grant program to
reduce law enforcement involvement with residential facilities.
The webinar
takes place on February 12 at 10 a.m. and will provide
an overview of the funding and updated submission timelines.
Agencies interested in applying are encouraged to register for
the webinar and CDSS has indicated that the original February 1
submission date has been postponed.
Bank of America and JP Morgan Chase will provide free ATM access
to low-income families receiving benefits via their electronic
benefits transfer (EBT) cards, joining several smaller banks and
credit unions that already provide ATM access without surcharges.
This announcement comes after years of work by a coalition of
California advocates and social services providers including
counties and in partnership with the California Department of
Social Services (CDSS).
The County Medical Services Program (CMSP) has recently announced
two new grant opportunities – CMSP Loan Repayment Program (LRP)
and CMSP Health Systems Development Grant (HSG).
CMSP LRP
In partnership with the California Office of Statewide Health
Planning and Development (OSHPD), CMSP will assist with the
repayment of educational debt for the following professionals who
provide primary healthcare or dental services at an approved
contracted site located within the 35 CMSP counties:
As detailed in last
week’s Bulletin, the United States Department of Agriculture
indicated that it found a way to continue funding the
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program/CalFresh through
February during the federal government shutdown. This plan
required states to request an issuance of benefits by January 20.
The California Health Care Foundation (CHCF) has
announced Medi-Cal Explained: An Overview of Program
Basics Briefing. This briefing will be the first in a series
sponsored by CHCF intended to provide an overview of Medi-Cal,
including the people it serves and the services it provides, as
well as the organization, oversight, and financing of the
program.
The Program Basics Briefing will be held at the Sacramento
Masonic Temple on February 12 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. with
lunch provided.
The County Medical Services Program (CMSP) Governing Board has
released its Request for Proposals (RFP) for the CMSP Health
Systems Development Grant (HSG) Program.
