Future of Medi-Cal Commission; Sobering centers resources
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This month, I'm stepping back from our usual CalAIM updates to share news about an important development that will shape the future of Medi-Cal. As you well know, millions of Californians depend on the essential health services provided by Medi-Cal. But with too many Medi-Cal members struggling to get the care they need — and significant fiscal pressures on the horizon — now is the time to consider how to modernize Medi-Cal and ensure this program can serve the next generation of Californians.
Melora Simon, MPH, Associate Director,
People-Centered Care
The Future of Medi-Cal Commission, launched in November, will begin meeting next month to develop a 10-year road map for a more effective and sustainable Medi-Cal program.
Cochaired by Dr. Mark Ghaly, former secretary of CalHHS, and Ann O’Leary, former chief of staff to Gov. Newsom, this effort will bear final recommendations in early 2027. To support the work of the commission and its deliberations, CHCF is issuing a call for papers to those who have a bold idea for preserving and strengthening Medi-Cal. Apply by December 19.
Highlights
Sobering centers: New tools to help expand a successful model for stabilizing care
With California leading the nation in adoption of sobering centers, new CHCF reports highlight strategies for overcoming implementation barriers, along with a how-to guide for operating these facilities.
DHCS analytical tool provides new insights for care managers and population health
A new state data tool offers managed care and behavioral health plans detailed views of members’ risks and unmet needs — opening up new opportunities to close gaps in services.
Fact sheet series: The experiences of people CalAIM aspires to serve
The final two fact sheets in CHCF’s Listening to Californians with Complex Needs series focus on people who use a language other than English and who live in rural areas.
Sobering centers: New tools to help expand a successful model for stabilizing care
California continues to lead the nation in adoption of sobering centers. These community-based facilities are designed as alternatives to emergency departments and jails to provide stabilizing care and service connections for intoxicated adults. Sobering centers are now operating in 16 counties. These facilities have become increasingly integrated into local systems of care, diverting people from unnecessary hospital visits and jail bookings while providing compassionate care.
CalAIM has opened up a range of new potential funding models for sobering centers, including reimbursement through Medi-Cal. Efforts are also underway to establish a national sobering center certification that could help these centers expand their impact.
Implementation of these new tools, however, remains a challenge. A new CHCF explainer highlights some of the obstacles sobering centers continue to face, from qualifying for accreditation so they can serve as an alternative destination to the emergency department to braiding funding streams to sustainably cover their costs. The explainer also includes best practices to enable these facilities to succeed, as well as recommendations for managed care plans, policymakers, and community-based organizations for further overcoming barriers to successful sobering center operations.
>> Read the full CHCF explainer here: Sobering Centers Explained: An Environmental Scan in California, 2025 Updates. CHCF has also published an implementation guide, with tools and resources for sobering centers and plans.
Today (Dec. 4) a webinar hosted by the Center for Health Care Strategies will feature a panel discussion with national sobering center experts and frontline staff. Register for “Developing and Sustaining Sobering Centers: Perspectives from California” happening at 1:00 PM (PT) or check back in a week at that same link for a recording of the event.
DHCS analytical tool provides new insights for care managers and population health
This fall, DHCS released a new tool to managed care plans and county behavioral health providers working to implement population health management programs through CalAIM. Medi-Cal Connect is a new analytics solution that brings together data from multiple sources to strengthen coordination across the Medi-Cal program, identify gaps in services, and understand the impact of these services on member outcomes.
An accompanying Medi-Cal Connect guide (PDF) offers more detail on how this tool can be used both for individual members and at the population level. For care managers, Medi-Cal Connect provides an integrated and longitudinal view of a member’s health, needs, and risks — allowing providers to see medical, behavioral, pharmacy, and dental utilization in one place. For quality leaders, Medi-Cal Connect allows for high-level review of population health and quality performance, while allowing users to stratify results by age, sex, race, ethnicity, and language, as well as by engagement with programs like ECM, Community Supports, Doula, and CHW services.
Right now, managed care and behavioral health plans have access to this new service. At the end of next year, DHCS plans to make the tool available to additional health care delivery partners, including local county providers and tribal partners.
>> The new Medi-Cal Connect portal is accessible on the DHCS website, as is the accompanying Medi-Cal Connect guide (PDF).
DHCS has also published a helpful FAQ on this new tool: Medi-Cal Connect: Frequently Asked Questions.
Fact sheet series: The experiences of people CalAIM aspires to serve
The final set of fact sheets from CHCF’s Listening to Californians with Complex Needs project are now live. They highlight how specific populations served by CalAIM are experiencing care through the program.
The first fact sheet focuses on people who use a language other than English. More than half of participants with linguistic needs rely on trusted people — typically social workers or care managers within community organizations — to access services and information. Without these caregivers, participants say mental health challenges and social isolation are often exacerbated by language barriers.
The second fact sheet focuses on the perspectives of rural Californians with complex needs, including Native Americans who live in rural areas, and their caregivers. Although rural participants, like many other groups, value culturally resonant care, what makes rural areas unique is the significant shortage of providers and social services of all types — particularly dental care, behavioral health services, child care, and housing. More than half of rural participants report facing long wait times, with some waiting six months to see a local specialist — or going without care entirely. Not surprisingly, transportation assistance is valued extremely highly as one of the only ways residents can access care.
>> Read the Listening to Californians with Complex Needs fact sheets, which include resources for providers:
- Listening to Californians with Complex Needs: People Who Use a Language Other Than English
- Listening to Californians with Complex Needs: Rural Californians
Check out the full report:
Other CalAIM Articles and Resources We Recommend
- Join CSH for a webinar on their Housing Support Plan Quality Review tool. The tool was created to support Transitional Rent implementation in California. Managed care plans, Community Supports providers, and counties can learn how the tool can enhance coordination across housing and health partners. Wednesday, December 17, 9 AM–10 AM (PT). Register now.
- Building a Cross-Sector Approach to Sobering Centers in Santa Cruz County, California (Center for Health Care Strategies)
- Housing-Related Community Supports Tools (Housing Community Supports Implementation Advisory Committee)
- Consent and Information Sharing Toolkit: Helping Providers, Counties and Managed Care Plans Better Understand and Apply Rules of Information Sharing Related to Medi-Cal Services for Families in Child Welfare (PDF) (Safe & Sound)
- Asthma Preventive Services and Asthma Remediation: Changing Lives One Breath at a Time (PDF) (Regional Asthma Management and Prevention)
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