California is reforming its Medicaid program, Medi-Cal, to address social determinants of health — a move that shifts state-sponsored health coverage toward whole-person health, according to CalMatters.
In January, the state launched California Advancing and Innovating Medi-Cal, dubbed CalAIM, which is a series of changes to Medi-Cal over the next several years that seek to address health-adjacent social issues like homelessness, food insecurity and poverty. Gov. Gavin Newsom earmarked $8 billion in his January budget proposal to fuel the changes.
The changes would be the largest move from a Medicaid program to address social determinants of health in the country — both through its significant funding and because of the size of California's program, according to CalMatters. Currently, Medi-Cal serves 13 million beneficiaries, and the reforms would especially impact high-risk members.
"This was designed at the county level to identify very high risk populations — oftentimes people who were coming to the emergency room five to 10 times a month," Erica Murray, president and CEO of the California Association of Public Hospitals and Health Systems, told CalMatters.
CalAIM launched as a pilot program in 25 counties for two years, impacting about 108,000 members. The program's successes — including case management and helping connect patients to social services — helped earn it wider implementation.