White House Blueprint Tackles Maternal Health Crisis
CalAIM Launches Program to Reform Housing and Health Care Coverage in California
May 18, 2022 by Alexa Hornbeck
A new program launched this year out of California called CalAIM helps high-risk and low-income Medi-Cal residents find affordable housing through their health insurance plans.
The CalAIM program is intended to improve health outcomes of Medi-Cal enrollees, specifically those with behavioral health needs, seniors, people living with disabilities, those transitioning from jail or prisons back to the community or those experiencing homelessness. It also helps children with complex medical conditions and those in foster care.
The program will allow managed care plans to couple clinical care with a range of new non-medical services reimbursed by MediCal. These non-medical services include housing support, medical respite, personal care, medically tailored meals and peer support.
The program will also require public health systems to be more responsive and equitable by focusing on population health and matching the right patients to the right services at the right time. It will implement payment reforms for physical and behavioral health providers based on outcomes rather than services.
The activities that CalAIM will cover require a waiver approval from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and those waivers were finalized by CMS in December 2021.
The Department of Health Care Services is implementing CalAIM in partnership with Medi-Cal providers, Managed Care plans, counties, community-based organizations and other stakeholders, with the first reforms effective Jan. 1, 2022, and subsequent reforms to be phased in through 2027, according to a document from DHCS regarding the timeline for implementation.
Alexa can be reached at alexa@thewellnews.com
In The News
Health
Health
FDA Advisors Lean Into Modifying COVID-19 Vaccines to Be Omicron-Specific
2022-06-29 22:35:19
Voting
Supreme Court
Justices Rule GOP Lawmakers Can Defend North Carolina Voter ID Law
2022-06-23 20:10:02
2022 Elections
Secretary of State, Voting Orgs Clash Over Election Mailer in Ohio
2022-06-03 14:58:15
Health
June 29, 2022
by Alexa Hornbeck
White House Blueprint Tackles Maternal Health Crisis
The White House has new plans to address maternal mortality through the Blueprint for Addressing the Maternal Health Crisis, an effort... Read More
The White House has new plans to address maternal mortality through the Blueprint for Addressing the Maternal Health Crisis, an effort to increase access and coverage for certain maternal health services, including behavioral health. The blueprint outlines five priorities to improve maternal health and outcomes: increasing access... Read More
June 29, 2022
by Alexa Hornbeck
FDA Advisors Lean Into Modifying COVID-19 Vaccines to Be Omicron-Specific
Key advisors from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration met on Tuesday to examine COVID-19 vaccines and whether there is need for... Read More
Key advisors from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration met on Tuesday to examine COVID-19 vaccines and whether there is need for modification as protection wanes. During the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee meeting, a majority of the panel, 19-2, ruled in favor of manufacturing an... Read More
June 29, 2022
by Alexa Hornbeck
Restoring Hope for Mental Health and Well-Being Act of 2022 Sails Through House
The Restoring Hope for Mental Health and Well-Being Act of 2022 was passed by the House on June 22 to tackle mental... Read More
The Restoring Hope for Mental Health and Well-Being Act of 2022 was passed by the House on June 22 to tackle mental illness and substance use disorder in the country, especially for rural and low-income communities. The act passed the House with a vote of 402-20, and reauthorizes... Read More
June 29, 2022
by Alexa Hornbeck
Equity and Accountability Act Addresses Health Disparities
Sens. Cory Booker, D-N.J., and Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., have provided a roadmap for eliminating racial and ethnic health inequities. The senators’... Read More
Sens. Cory Booker, D-N.J., and Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., have provided a roadmap for eliminating racial and ethnic health inequities. The senators’ new legislation is called the Health Equity and Accountability Act, and they released it on June 24. The bill lays out 10 provisions and additional investments Congress... Read More
June 29, 2022
by Alexa Hornbeck
WHO Members Express Continued Concerns Over COVID and Monkeypox
World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called Wednesday for accelerated efforts to develop a pan-coronavirus vaccine. He said that while... Read More
World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called Wednesday for accelerated efforts to develop a pan-coronavirus vaccine. He said that while honing vaccines to the evolving virus variants makes sense, he is concerned that the pace of mutation means the world is continuing to play catch up. ... Read More
June 29, 2022
by Alexa Hornbeck
NIH-Funded Study Reveals Evolutionary Tricks Tied to Health Longevity
National Institutes of Health-funded research released on June 23 offers new insights into why aging rates vary when it comes to evolutionary... Read More
National Institutes of Health-funded research released on June 23 offers new insights into why aging rates vary when it comes to evolutionary tricks, such as having armor and venom. The research was led by Ronald Kohanski, who serves as a director of the National Institute on Aging at... Read More
News From The Well
