On Thursday, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) announced a series of community meetings to share information about COVID-19 as parents and students prepare for full-time, in-person instruction this coming fall. The school health plans are 90-minute virtual meetings featuring local education representatives, medical experts, school mental health experts, community advocates and others. Nine…
Read More »This week, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) awarded $117 million to state and local health departments to help rebuild and begin to expand HIV prevention and treatment efforts as the U.S. continues its response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The awarded funds are part of the federal Ending the HIV Epidemic in…
Read More »The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) this week jointly issued guidance on how “long COVID” can be a disability under specified provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Rehabilitation Act, and the Affordable Care Act (ACA). HHS notes that people continue to experience…
Read More »This week, during a statewide tour, Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law a series of budget trailer bills on several notable topics. These budget trailer bills provide the key funding and implementation details associated with investments included in the state’s FY 2021-22 Budget Act. Below, we highlight several of the actions from this week: Homelessness…
Read More »The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) continues to promote COVID-19 vaccinations statewide amid increases in cases and hospitalizations, as well as increasing presence of COVID-19 virus variants. CDPH continues to focus on vaccinating the remaining population and maintaining vaccine accessibility through data-driven approaches that prioritize communities disproportionately impacted by the pandemic. Communication and outreach…
Read More »This week, the State of California and Blue Shield of California announced a joint agreement for Blue Shield of California to transition out of its role as the state’s third-party administrator (TPA) for COVID-19 vaccine allocation and distribution activities. Recall, the Newsom Administration in January 2021 announced the selection of Blue Shield of California as…
Read More »On Monday, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), the federal government’s watchdog agency, issued a nearly 500-page report on the federal government’s ongoing response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The GAO report outlines a series of recommendations intended to bring an end to the pandemic and strengthen national preparedness for future health emergencies. The report emphasizes…
Read More »A bipartisan coalition of state attorneys general this week announced it has reached a national agreement for a $26 billion settlement with prescription drug manufacturers and distributors for their role in the opioid epidemic. The tentative agreement with the four companies, Johnson & Johnson, AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health, and McKesson, would establish the framework for significant…
Read More »The California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) last month convened a webinar for providers and interested stakeholders to learn about the forthcoming policy changes associated with Medi-Cal Managed Care and the state’s sweeping California Advancing and Innovating Medi-Cal (CalAIM) Initiative. The webinar provided background on Medi-Cal, CalAIM components, Enhanced Care Management (ECM) and In…
Read More »This week, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), issued an informational bulletin to states’ Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) agencies reaffirming that the 2019 Public Charge Rule “Inadmissibility on Public Charge Grounds” is no longer in effect. CMS directs states…
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