The Biden-Harris Administration this week issued guidance to states on available options to advance COVID-19 vaccination and testing, as well as Medicaid insurance enrollment, as part of its implementation of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA). The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will provide guidance to states about additional ARPA funds…
Read More »President Joseph R. Biden Jr. this week proclaimed September 2021 as National Preparedness Month and urged all Americans to recognize the importance of preparedness and work together to enhance resilience and readiness. President Biden indicates the theme of this year’s preparedness month is “Prepare to Protect” and reiterates steps available to Americans to prevent and…
Read More »The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) this week announced the formation of the Office of Climate Change and Health Equity (OCCHE) in response to President Joseph R. Biden, Jr.’s executive order earlier this year directing specified federal agencies to undertake activities related to climate change. The HHS office is the first of…
Read More »The California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) today made available the recording and materials from the August 25 webinar for providers and interested parties on the California Advancing and Innovating Medi-Cal (CalAIM) initiative Enhanced Care Management (ECM) and In Lieu of Services (ILOS) components. The August 25 webinar covers the following: What are ECM…
Read More »The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) recently issued its 2019-20 Kindergarten Immunization Assessment, detailing immunization rates for California children. According to CDPH, immunization rates reported for kindergarteners in California have remained at high levels (94.3 percent in 2019-20) but have decreased slightly over recent years. A modest decrease in the combined vaccination rate in…
Read More »California Health Policy Strategies (CHPS) recently issued a report highlighting funding opportunities for housing and behavioral health services for reentry and justice-involved populations included in the state’s 2021 Budget Act. In its resource, CHPS provides a high-level overview of over $12 billion in new program initiatives and investments, including as part of the state’s sweeping…
Read More »Governor Gavin Newsom on Wednesday announced that, within hours of the state’s request, the White House approved a Presidential Emergency Declaration for direct federal assistance to support the response to the Caldor Fire burning in El Dorado, Amador, Alpine, and Placer counties. The declaration will supplement state, local, and tribal government emergency services for the…
Read More »California’s ACEs Aware, the joint initiative between the Office of the California Surgeon General and the California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS), will convene a webinar on Wednesday, September 22 from 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm. The webinar will be the third and final in the multipart series and will explore the science of…
Read More »Today, the California State Senate and Assembly fiscal committees met the deadline to hear and report all bills. Pursuant with today’s deadline, both the Senate and Assembly Appropriations Committees yesterday held their suspense file hearings, determining the fate of hundreds of legislative bills that remain in play for this year’s session. Only two weeks remain…
Read More »This week, the Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) published its annual California Spending Plan to summarize the year’s state budget. The LAO on Tuesday published the overview of the 2021-22 Budget Act and highlights major features of the budget approved by the Legislature and signed by Governor Gavin Newsom. The report published by the LAO is…
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