This week, the California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) submitted to the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) an application to amend the California Advancing and Innovating Medi-Cal (CalAIM) Section 1115 demonstration to increase and eventually eliminate asset limits for certain low-income individuals whose eligibility is not determined using the modified adjusted…
Read More »The U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), under the U.S. Health and Human Services Agency, recently granted approval of California’s sweeping health and human services initiatives. On December 29, CMS signed off on the state’s sweeping “California Advancing and Innovating Medi-Cal” (CalAIM) initiative, consisting of two federal waivers – the Section 1115 Medicaid…
Read More »This week, the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) confirmed receipt and completion of California’s Section 1115 Demonstration Waiver, referred to as California Advancing and Innovating Medi-Cal (CalAIM). CMS today opened a 30-day federal public comment period, allowing individuals to provide input on California’s request for a five-year Medicaid demonstration extension. The federal…
Read More »Recently, the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) received approval from the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) for a one-year extension of California’s Section 1115 Medi-Cal 2020 demonstration waiver. Recall, DHCS requested an extension of the waiver in mid-2020 amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Notably, included in the approved extension is a…
Read More »This week, the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) announced it is seeking stakeholder participation in a series of technical workgroups that will be convened to obtain input regarding the renewal of the Home and Community-Based Alternatives (HCBA) Waiver. The HCBA Waiver provides long-term, community-based services and supports to Medi-Cal-eligible beneficiaries in the community of…
Read More »Recall, the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) is seeking a 12-month extension of the Section 1115 Medi-Cal 2020 Waiver that is currently set to expire on December 31, 2020. The extension request was published in late July can may be viewed here. DHCS will hold its second and final public hearing to solicit comments…
Read More »On Wednesday, the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) released its proposed Medi-Cal 2020 12-month extension request. Recall, California’s Section 1115(a) Medicaid waiver, entitled Medi-Cal 2020, was approved by the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on December 30, 2015 and is effective through December 31, 2020. DHCS intended to launch California Advancing…
Read More »On March 19, the California Department of Health Care Services sent a formal letter to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) requesting additional flexibilities to assist in California’s COVID-19 response efforts. DHCS requested the following flexibilities to be granted for fee-for-service Medi-Cal beneficiaries and providers, and various federally approved delivery systems such as…
Read More »The California Association of Public Hospitals and Health Systems (CAPH)/Safety Net Institute (SNI) will host a webinar on December 16 from 1:00 pm-2:00 pm to detail the progress and impact of California’s public health care systems in PRIME (Public Hospital Redesign and Incentives in Medi-Cal), a key program of the Medi-Cal 2020 waiver. During the…
Read More »Today, the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released a letter to states announcing that CMS will no longer accept state proposals to finance Medicaid 1115 Demonstrations by drawing down federal funds for programs that have historically been paid for by states outside of Medicaid. These time-limited arrangements, known as Designated State Health…
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