California Awards First Round of Capacity-Building Grants for CalAIM | Healthcare Innovation

The California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) has awarded $119 million to help local organizations build capacity and infrastructure in Medi-Cal’s delivery system as part of California Advancing and Innovating Medi-Cal (CalAIM), the state’s Medicaid transformation effort.

The awards for 98 organizations are being made through Providing Access and Transforming Health (PATH) Capacity and Infrastructure, Transition, Expansion, and Development (CITED) Initiative Round 1A.

The PATH program is comprised of multiple aligned initiatives that will provide funding, tools, technical support, and resources to Medi-Cal providers, including community -based organizations (CBOs), counties, Tribes, local governmental entities, and other community partners to support a smooth transition to CalAIM.

“Today’s awards will help new providers and organizations develop the capacity to participate in the Medi-Cal healthcare delivery system, expanding the networks of Community Supports and Enhanced Care Management benefit providers who will be available to serve Medi-Cal members,” said DHCS Director Michelle Baass, in a statement. “CITED funds will be used to strengthen capacity and infrastructure statewide, particularly among providers and CBOs that have historically been under-resourced.”

PATH CITED funds will be used toward increasing the provider workforce, investing in infrastructure and IT systems to support the delivery of Enhanced Care Management (ECM) or Community Supports, developing plans to conduct outreach to historically under-resourced and/or underserved populations to engage them in care or other uses justified in the application process.

Organizations are also invited to use funds to conduct community health assessments to evaluate and address existing gaps in ECM and Community Support services.

“CITED funding will help address the gaps in local organizational capacity and infrastructure, enabling these local partners to scale up the services they provide to Medi-Cal members,” said State Medicaid Director Jacey Cooper, in a statement. “These are tangible dollars that will help organizations add staff, develop capabilities, such as billing and data exchange systems, and enable community partners to successfully contract with managed care organizations to provide the new Medi-Cal benefit of Enhanced Care Management and Community Support services.”

The PATH CITED initiative originally intended to award $100 million to eligible entities , but in order to further support the development of CalAIM infrastructure, and in response to the large volume of requests received in Round 1, DHCS is adjusting the Round 1 allocation to approximately $250 million for two Round 1 announcements: Round 1A and Round 1B. Both Round 1A and Round 1B awardees were selected from the current Round 1 applicant pool. Round 1B will be announced no later than March 2023. The CITED initiative will provide $580 million in total funding, and the next application window will open in February 2023.

In addition, as part of PATH, the state is setting up a new Technical Assistance (TA) Marketplace of vendors approved to help community-based organizations (CBOs), public hospitals, county agencies, tribes, and others implementing CalAIM. Through the marketplace these entities will be able to access resources to build capacity and drive effectiveness. The state funds these entity-requested services.

Consulting firm BluePath Health announced it has been named a TA Marketplace vendor. The firm says it has a long track record of effectively delivering community health programs. In 2021, Blue Path designed and implemented a care navigation program in Marin County High Schools, under the Marin County Youth Opioid Response (YOR) 2 grant. The firm says its efforts created a more equitable and holistic culture of health for Marin County youth by expanding referrals and navigation of services for those experiencing and at risk for opioid use disorder and stimulant use disorder.

Eviset, a company that offers standardized performance indicators to optimize matching of community-based organizations with funding and healthcare contracting opportunities, also has been approved as a TA Marketplace vendor.

As an approved technical assistance vendor “Supporting Cross-Sector Partnerships,” Eviset said it would help community service providers gather, analyze, and present key performance indicators and business data aligned with CalAIM and the larger healthcare market. Streamlining service providers’ communication of their value propositions to health plans improves both their access to health plan partnerships and their ability to unlock capacity-building investments, the company said.