Medi-Cal

About Medi-Cal

Every year, California’s hospitals treat millions of patients, many of them covered by Medi-Cal, the state’s health care safety net. This includes numerous essential health care services, including care for more than 50% of all births, 51% of behavioral health-related emergency department visits, and 49% of rural hospital patient care But for low-income Californians who rely on Medi-Cal for coverage — two-thirds of whom are people of color — their care is at serious risk. Communities with high Medi-Cal enrollment already suffer from a severe lack of health care providers and with hospital services at risk of being reduced and outright closures looming, California’s most vulnerable, including people living in rural and underserved areas, are in jeopardy.

Updates on the No Surprises Act Implementation Webinar 

To assist members with a variety of Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) No Surprises Act resources that have recently been updated, CHA will host a webinar on Feb. 9.      During the webinar, Amanda Hayes-Kibreab, partner at Kings-Spalding, will share insights, and:  

CalAIM Long-Term Care Carve-In

To increase access to comprehensive care coordination, care management, and a broad array of services for Medi-Cal beneficiaries, CalAIM is standardizing Medi-Cal Long-Term Care (LTC) across the state. Effective January 1, all managed care plans must authorize and cover medically necessary LTC services at Skilled Nursing Facilities.

Valley Children’s Healthcare CEO Todd Suntrapak Elected 2023 Chair of California Hospital Association’s Board of Trustees

SACRAMENTO (January 12, 2023) — Todd Suntrapak, President and CEO of Valley Children’s Healthcare in Madera, has been elected 2023 chair of the California Hospital Association’s Board of Trustees. Suntrapak, who has been with Valley Children’s for more than 25 years, was named CEO in 2012 after serving in various leadership positions. He has championed […]

Governor’s 2023-24 Budget Proposal Neglects to Meet Urgent Need for Support for Patients, Hospitals

“California’s hospitals commend Gov. Newsom for his ongoing commitment to increasing access to health care in his proposed January budget, despite the state facing a more than $22 billion budget shortfall,” said Carmela Coyle, President & CEO of the California Hospital Association. “The budget also must support the health care providers who care for patients day […]

New Law Makes Big Changes to Pandemic-Related Medicaid Policies

On Dec. 29, President Joe Biden signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023, which makes two major changes to COVID-19 pandemic-related Medicaid policies that will have significant impacts on California’s hospitals.  Previous COVID-19-related federal legislation made state Medicaid programs eligible to receive a 6.2 percentage-point increase in the federal government’s share of cost, provided states […]

DHCS Announces Changes to Medi-Cal Managed Care Contract Awards

Last week, the California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS)  announced in a joint statement with five commercial managed care plans (MCPs) that an agreement had been reached on which commercial health plans will serve Medi-Cal patients in 21 counties beginning in January 2024. The agreement relates to the Medi-Cal MCP procurement process that began […]