On Wednesday, Governor Gavin Newsom issued a press release announcing his Executive Order N-23-20 to reduce street homelessness, reduce barriers for homeless individuals to access health care and other services, and increase housing options for those experiencing homelessness. The executive order, effective immediately, requires: All state agencies named in the Executive Order to develop metrics…
Read More »The California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) on Wednesday announced that is has renamed the multi-year reform initiative aimed at improving the health outcomes and quality of life for California’s population in Medi-Cal. Recall, DHCS released its formal proposal to incorporate several state innovations that have been successfully tested through California’s federal 1115 waivers…
Read More »The California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) recently posted an informational chart with managed care model type definitions and requirements. The purpose of the chart is to aid counties, plans, and other stakeholders in understanding the different managed care model types and the associated requirements. The informational chart can be found on DHCS’ website…
Read More »On Tuesday, California State Auditor Elaine Howle released a report entitled, “Childhood Lead Levels: Millions of Children in Medi-Cal Have Not Received Required Testing for Lead Poisoning.” The audit was conducted on the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) and the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) and found that from fiscal years 2009-10 through…
Read More »CHEAC Staff wishes all a very happy holidays and joyous new year! The CHEAC Office will be closed December 25 and January 1, and staff availability will be limited over the next two weeks. The CHEAC Weekly Update will take a brief hiatus during this time and will resume publication during the week of January…
Read More »Governor Gavin Newsom on Wednesday announced the launch of the Healthy California for All Commission and appointed his commissioners to the group, consisting of health experts in business, philanthropy, academia, and labor. Recall, the Healthy California for All Commission was created as part of the 2019-20 Budget Act and is tasked with developing a plan…
Read More »This week, the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) announced its selection of 30 individuals for the Medi-Cal Rx Advisory Workgroup. Recall, Governor Gavin Newsom earlier this year issued an executive order directing various state agencies to achieve cost-savings for drug purchases made by the State of California. Under the order, DHCS is tasked with…
Read More »On Wednesday, Covered California released new data detailing open enrollment figures for the 2020 coverage year, revealing that 230,000 Californians have selected a plan as of December 16. This figure represents an increase of approximately 16 percent compared to last year’s open enrollment period at this point in time. More than 1.15 million existing consumers…
Read More »This week, Congress approved final federal appropriations packages for Fiscal Year 2020, which officially began on October 1, 2019. Totaling $1.4 trillion, all of the various appropriations bills were bundled into two separate “minibus” packages – one is for most domestic programs and priorities (plus international assistance) and the other is for national security and…
Read More »The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in New Orleans on Wednesday struck down the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate, ruling on a 2-1 vote that the coverage requirement was unconstitutional after Congress in 2017 eliminated the tax penalty that was intended to enforce it. Despite ruling against a core component of the…
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