(a) No sooner than July 1, 2017, the department may implement the Whole Child Model program established under this section, pursuant to the criteria described in this article. The director shall provide notice to the Legislature, the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, counties, CCS providers, and CCS families when each managed care plan, including a transition plan with the county CCS program, has been reviewed and certified as ready to enroll children based on the criteria described in this article.
(b) Prior to the implementation of the Whole Child Model, the department shall do all of the following:
(1) Develop specific CCS program monitoring and oversight standards for managed care plans that are subject to this article, including access monitoring, quality measures, and ongoing public data reporting.
(2) Establish a stakeholder process pursuant to Section 14094.17.
(3) Consult with the statewide stakeholder advisory group established pursuant to Section 14094.17 to develop and implement robust monitoring processes to ensure that managed care plans are in compliance with all of the provisions of this section. The department shall monitor managed care plan compliance with the provisions of this section on at least an annual basis and post CCS-specific monitoring dashboards on its Internet Web site on at least an annual basis.
(c) (1) In order to aid the transition of CCS services into Medi-Cal managed care plans participating in the Whole Child Model program, commencing January 1, 2017, and continuing through the completion of the transition of CCS enrollees into the Whole Child Model program, the department shall begin requesting and collecting from Medi-Cal managed care plans information about each health plan’s provider network, including, but not limited to, the contracting primary care, specialty care providers, and hospital facilities contracting with the Medi-Cal managed care plan.
(2) The department shall analyze the existing Medi-Cal managed care delivery system network and the CCS fee-for-service provider networks to determine the overlap of the provider networks in each county and shall furnish this information to the Medi-Cal managed care plan.
(d) A managed care plan shall not be approved to participate in the Whole Child Model program unless all of the following conditions have been satisfied:
(1) The managed care plan has obtained written approval from the director.
(2) The department has obtained any necessary federal approvals.
(3) The Medi-Cal managed care plan has established a local stakeholder process with the meaningful engagement of a diverse group of families that represent a range of conditions, disabilities, and demographics, and local providers, including, but not limited to, the parent centers, such as family resource centers, family empowerment centers, and parent training and information centers, that support families in the affected county.
(4) The director has verified the readiness of the managed care plan to address the unique needs of CCS-eligible beneficiaries, including, but not limited to, the requirements set forth in subdivision (b) of Section 14087.48, subdivisions (b) to (f), inclusive, of Section 14093.05, and all of the following:
(A) That the managed care contractor has demonstrated the availability of an appropriate provider network to serve the needs of children and youth with CCS conditions, including primary care physicians, pediatric specialists and subspecialists, professional, allied, and medical supportive personnel, licensed acute care hospitals, and special care centers.
(B) That the Medi-Cal managed care plan has established and maintains an updated and accessible listing of providers and their specialties and subspecialties and makes it available to CCS-eligible children and youth and their parents or guardians, at a minimum by phone, written material, and Internet Web site.
(C) That the Medi-Cal managed care plan has entered into an agreement with the county CCS program or the state, or both, for the transition of CCS care coordination and service authorization and how the plan will work with the CCS program to ensure continuity and consistency of CCS program expertise for that role, in accordance with this section.
(e) A Medi-Cal managed care plan, prior to implementation of the Whole Child Model program, shall review historical CCS fee-for-service utilization data for CCS-eligible children and youth upon transition of CCS services to managed care plans so that the managed care plans are better able to assist CCS-eligible children and youth and prioritize assessment and care planning.
(Added by Stats. 2016, Ch. 625, Sec. 7. (SB 586) Effective January 1, 2017.)
Last modified: October 25, 2018