Community Action Marin is one of four organizations in Marin County to recently receive Medi-Cal funding to support vulnerable residents as part of a statewide effort to reconfigure the Medi-Cal system. There are 48,000 Medi-Cal recipients in the county, many of whom will receive better service delivery because of increased dollars dedicated to strengthening provider efficiencies and effectiveness.
The new plan, called California Advancing and Innovating Medi-Cal (CalAIM), funds more proactive interventions for Medi-Cal recipients such as consistent primary medical care and preventative care to keep people healthy and out of hospital emergency rooms, the most expensive place to receive treatment. The new plan will also fund non-clinical services that have an impact on health, such as access to housing and healthy food. This is where the services that Community Action Marin has been providing will be supported by increased investment.
The funding will specifically allow CAM to provide housing navigation and housing deposits to residents of low-income and receive reimbursement for existing as well as new service delivery in support of its housing first commitment. State funding will also be used to hire a billing specialist and a service coordinator to improve interventions and increase resources.
Other county awardees include Homeward Bound, Ritter Center, and Marin City Health and Wellness.
“California is on the leading edge of understanding the important intersection between public health and the provision of social services,” said California Alexandre, the CEO of Community Action Marin. “By supporting our ability to do our work better and more effectively with needed funding, the state will achieve better outcomes for people most in need.”
The CalAIM initiative utilizes the Medi-Cal program to help address the multifaceted challenges
facing California’s most vulnerable residents such as individuals experiencing homelessness,
behavioral health care access, children with complex care needs, the growing number of justice-
involved populations who have significant clinical needs, and the growing aging population.
“It’s exciting,” said Liz Gibboney, Partnership HealthPlan of California’s Chief Executive Officer, which disbursed the county funds, “because it is an acknowledgement by the state and the Medi-Cal program that health and wellness are not only determined by the quality of medical care that someone receives, but on their social needs as well.”
“The state looks at this as infrastructure and capacity building,” Gibboney said. “The money can be spent on things like hiring staff, developing data systems, purchasing software and hardware. Things that make it easier to work with managed care plans like Partnership and get the data the state is looking for.”
To learn more about Community Action Marin’s homeless outreach and safety net services, click here.