The Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) is the reporting
entity for funds received through the Mallinckrodt Bankruptcy,
pursuant to the California Mallinckrodt Statewide Abatement
Agreement. Funds from the Mallinckrodt Bankruptcy are distributed
directly to local governments from the National Opioid Abatement
Trust II Fund (NOAT II). DHCS will provide a training session on
the Mallinckrodt expenditure reporting form on Wednesday,
October 25, 2023, from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m.
The California Health and Human Services Agency (CalHHS) will
host an informational webinar for stakeholders and interested
parties on
SB 326 and
AB 531 – the Governor’s Behavioral Health System Reform
Package – on Friday, September 22nd from
2pm-3pm, in collaboration with the California Department
of Housing and Community Development (HCD) and the California
Department of Veterans Affairs (CalVet). The webinar will
summarize amendments to the bill package and will be recorded for
those who are not available and wish to view the webinar at a
later date. To participate in the webinar, please follow this
link.
The Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) will host an
informational webinar on September 29 at 9:00 am
for entities that have been approved to receive Technical
Assistance (TA) resources through the Providing Access and
Transforming Health (PATH) TA Marketplace. The PATH TA
Marketplace initiative provides funding for counties, providers,
community-based organizations and others to obtain technical
assistance resources to establish infrastructure needed to
implement Enhanced Care Management and Community Supports under
CalAIM.
This week, the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS)
announced a second batch of awards for the first round of the
Behavioral
Health Bridge Housing (BHBH) Program. The awards announced
this week total $119.5 million to 12 counties, bringing the
overall awards to date of the BHBH Program to $897.1 million of
the nearly $907 million available for the first round.
Recent amendments to SB 326 (Eggman) fail to address county
concerns. There are only days left to make changes (the amendment
deadline is Friday, September 8) to the
proposal, and we have received no signal that the
Administration’s next set of amendments will meaningfully address
counties’ concerns.
CSAC is calling on our members to engage your
legislative delegations and for each county to send letters in
alignment with the CSAC/county coalition letter.
The California Health and Human Services Agency (CalHHS) Center
for Data Insights and Innovation (CDII) has released two amended
Policies and Procedures (P&Ps) for the Data Exchange
Framework’s (DxF) Data Sharing Agreement for public comment.
Public comment on these two amended P&Ps will be accepted
until Monday, September 18, 2023, at 8:00 a.m.
Earlier this week on August 22, the Assembly held a
joint informational hearing of the Assembly Health and
Housing and Community Development Committees to review and
discuss the Governor’s proposal to modernize the state’s
behavioral health system. While there was broad agreement that
reforms are needed, numerous members of the committees expressed
concern regarding the lack of additional ongoing, sustainable
funding to support the proposed reforms and asked questions about
the potential impacts to programs and services in their
communities.
The California Health and Human Services Agency (CalHHS) is
currently recruiting members for three time-limited ad hoc
subgroups of the CARE Act Working Group. Findings and
recommendations from each subgroup will be shared with counties,
the Department of Health Care Services, and the Judicial Council,
as well as help shape the implementation of the CARE Act. The
three groups are:
Earlier this week late on Tuesday evening, the first set of
amendments to Governor Newsom’s legislative proposal,
SB 326 (Eggman), to modernize the state’s behavioral health
system, came into print. CSAC continues to review the significant
changes made to the initial proposal and assess their impacts on
counties.
The Department of Health Care Services (DHCS), in partnership
with the contracted Health Management Associates (HMA), has
opened up registration for a training session and open-forum
discussion on Psychiatric Advance Directives (PAD) in the CARE
Act.
The training webinar, which takes place on August 28 at
10:00 am, will discuss the importance of PADs as a
blueprint for person-centered care and innovative tools and
processes that that may activate and utilize the PAD in the CARE
process.
Earlier this week, the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS)
published a new interactive Medi-Cal
dashboard detailing statewide and county-level demographic
data on Medi-Cal application processing, enrollments,
redeterminations, and renewal outcomes. In addition, DHCS has
created a dedicated
webpage with the files on this data.
On August 1, the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS)
released the opioid settlements
Expenditure Reporting Form to participating
subdivisions (counties and cities) receiving opioid settlement
funds for use for the reporting period July 1, 2022 – June 30,
2023. Participating subdivisions receiving funds from the opioid
settlements are required to complete annual expenditure reporting
to DHCS.
The Center for Data Insights and Innovation (CDII) invites health
and social services providers to apply for Round 2 of the Data
Exchange Framework (DxF) Data Sharing Agreement (DSA) Signatory
Grants Program. These grants are intended to support signatory
investments to meet DSA requirements. This grant program is open
to voluntary signatories, including counties, and required
signatories. Applications will be accepted through
September 1, 2023.
The California Health and Human Services Agency (CalHHS), along
with the Department of Health Care Services and the Judicial
Council of California, will convene the third Community
Assistance, Recovery, and Empowerment (CARE) Act Working Group
meeting on August 9 from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm.
The Center for Data Insights and Innovation (CDII) has launched a
new website to educate and
inform both Data Sharing Agreement (DSA) signatories and
individuals interested in learning more about the Data Exchange
Framework (DxF). DxF facilitates the secure and appropriate
exchange of health and social services information, allowing
providers to better understand a patient’s health history and
access the necessary information to provide safe, effective,
whole-person care. DSA is the first-ever statewide data sharing
agreement of its kind in California.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) approved the
Department of Health Care Services’ (DHCS’) two requests for
federal waiver authority to help streamline the processing of
annual Medi-Cal eligibility renewals and ease burdens on county
program administrators and Medi-Cal members.
Yesterday, California Health and Human Services Agency (CalHHS)
Secretary Mark Ghaly directed the Department of Public Health
(CDPH) and the Emergency Management Services Authority (EMSA) to
stand up the Medical and Health Coordination Center (MHCC)
pursuant to the state emergency plan at Level 4 (lowest level)
for coordination in response to the extreme heat events.
Governor Newsom’s legislative package of two bills proposing to
modernize the state’s behavioral health system and create more
behavioral health housing have been set for their initial
hearings next week in policy committees.
The Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) has contracted with
Health Management Associates (HMA) to provide Training and
Technical Assistance (TTA) for the Community Assistance, Recovery
and Empowerment (CARE) Act. HMA will be offering training
sessions on prioritized topics along with an open-forum webinar
at least monthly. The next two training sessions will be:
Three months after Governor Newsom’s initial
announcement proposing to modernize the state’s behavioral
health system and create more behavioral health housing, details
of the proposal were released in print through two legislative
policy bills.
SB 326, authored by Senator Susan Talamantes Eggman, proposes
significant changes to the Mental Health Services Act (MHSA), and
AB 531, authored by Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin, proposes a
$4.68 billion bond measure to finance the construction of
community mental health facilities, both for consideration on the
March 2024 ballot.
The Governor’s Administration has scheduled two workshops to
provide additional information and hear from
Behavioral Health Task Force (BHTF) members (June
27th) and members of the public (June 29th)
on the Governor’s proposal to modernize California’s behavioral
health system. It should be noted that the Governor’s formal,
detailed proposal has yet to be released.
Representatives from Health Management Associates (HMA) will
provide a training session on Wednesday, June 14, from 9
a.m. to 10 a.m., to cover CARE Act eligibility criteria,
including a review of diagnoses, symptoms, functional impairment,
and other criteria. The training will also cover the key points
in the Community Assistance, Recovery, and Empowerment (CARE) Act
process where eligibility is applied/reviewed (e.g., report,
evaluation).
Last Thursday, the Senate and Assembly Appropriations Committees
convened their suspense file hearings for bills introduced in
their house of origin. During these hearings, certain bills may
be held under submission and do not advance forward for a Floor
vote. Some bills are passed out of committee, some bills are
held, and others are turned into two-year bills. As the deadline
to pass bills in their house of introduction approaches, the CSAC
Health and Human Services policy unit wanted to provide an update
on key bills of interest to counties.
Last Thursday, the Senate and Assembly Appropriations Committees
convened their suspense file hearings for bills introduced in
their house of origin. During these hearings, certain bills may
be held under submission and do not advance forward for a Floor
vote. Some bills are passed out of committee, some bills are
held, and others are turned into two-year bills. As the deadline
to pass bills in their house of introduction approaches, the CSAC
Health and Human Services policy unit wanted to provide an update
on key bills of interest to counties.
The California Health and Human Services Agency (CalHHS) will
host the second Community Assistance, Recovery, and Empowerment
(CARE) Act Working Group meeting on Wednesday, May 17 from 11a.m.
to 3 p.m., in collaboration with the Department of Health Care
Services and the Judicial Council of California.
Based on current COVID-19 trends, the federal Department of
Health and Human Services (HHS) is planning for the federal
Public Health Emergency (PHE) for COVID-19, declared under
Section 319 of the Public Health Services Act, to expire at the
end of the day today, May 11, 2023.
Supervisors and county staff throughout the state convened in
Sacramento County for the 2023 CSAC Legislative Conference to
engage, empower and
elevate our collective county voice.
CSAC’s five policy committees – AOJ, AENR, GFA, HHS and HLT
– held important discussions to help steer the Association’s
policy and direction. Below is a recap from each policy
committees’ meeting.
The County Medical Services Program (CMSP) Governing Board
recently launched the CMSP Healthcare Infrastructure Development
Matching Grant program (HID Matching Grant) and is now accepting
applications.
While members of the Legislature returned home to their districts
for Spring Recess this week, legislative staff and advocates are
gearing up for long hearing days in the coming weeks as the
deadline for policy committees to hear and report fiscal bills
approaches at the end of April. As bills continue to take shape
in their house of origin, the CSAC Health and Human Services
(HHS) team is actively engaged on dozens of bills that impact
county administration and delivery of critical health, behavioral
health, and social services.
Following a four day “Tour of the State,” Governor Gavin Newsom
delivered a
letter to the Legislature this week, fulfilling his annual
duty to report to the Legislature on the condition of the state.
The letter, which was delivered in lieu of a formal speech,
highlights the Administration’s accomplishments over the past
four years and the major policy announcements made on his
statewide tour of California.
The California Mental Health Services Authority (CalMHSA) has
made its Peer Support Specialist Supervisor training available
online.
The course is an hour-long, self-paced online training resource
on CalMHSA’s learning management system.
On Wednesday, the Governor
announced the availability of $907 million in grant funding
for county behavioral health agencies (BHAs) under the initial
round of the Behavioral Health Bridge Housing (BHBH) program to
address the immediate housing and treatment needs of people
experiencing homelessness and serious behavioral health
conditions, including mental illness and substance use disorders.
The Mental Health Services Oversight & Accountability Commission
(MHSOAC) has released a
Request for Application (RFA) to award $20 million in
available Mental Health Wellness Act funds to support the
implementation and scaling of Age Wise and PEARLS programs
throughout California with the overall goal of addressing the
mental health needs of older adults.
