CalMediConnect

CalMediConnect, launched in 2014, is California’s dual eligible demonstration and seeks to integrate Medicare and Medicaid benefits under one health plan. One of its purposes is to better meet the needs of dual eligibles by increasing access to long-term services and supports (LTSS) and providing other value-added services, known in the demonstration as Care Plan Options (CPO). However, evaluation data and beneficiary experience indicate that more can be done to provide care for dual eligibles enrolled in the program. Justice in Aging recently obtained data via a Public Records Act request from California’s Department of Health Care Services that includes LTSS referrals and the number and type of CPO services plans are providing members.

 

This issue brief, Cal MediConnect: Unmet Need and Great Opportunity in California’s Dual Eligible Demonstration, provides a brief overview of the Cal MediConnect program and examines the health plan referral data for LTSS and CPO services obtained through the Public Records Act request. It concludes with recommendations for policymakers on ways to strengthen Cal MediConnect through improving access to LTSS and CPO services. These recommendations are of interest to those following Cal MediConnect as well as advocates and stakeholders in other states with their own dual eligible demonstrations.