OAKLAND, CA -- In a joint letter to both the Medicare-Medicaid Coordination office at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the California Department of Health Care Services, 41 organizations outlined concerns with the MediConnect program recently finalized in the Memorandum of Understanding between the federal and state agencies.
The state's plan may impact as many as 456,000 dual eligible individuals with enrollment beginning this October.
Concerns with both the Cal MediConnect and the state's Coordinated Care Initiative are listed in the letter concerning the size, timing, enrollment, inclusion of home and community-based care, continuity of care, ombuds services, as well as assumptions about spending reductions.
The letter states, "We have supported and continue to support the demonstration's goals of person-centered care, increased access to services, quality improvement and shifting the delivery of long-term services and supports to home and community-based settings. We have consistently over the past year and a half, raised issues about the CCI which threaten its ability to meet those goals. Many of our concerns remain."
Review the letter (attachment included)
The National Senior Citizens Law Center is a non-profit organization whose principal mission is to protect the rights of low-income older adults. Through advocacy, litigation, and the education and counseling of local advocates, we seek to ensure the health and economic security of those with limited income and resources, and access to the courts for all.
Contact: Vanessa Barrington
510-256-1200 direct
vbarrington(dot)justiceinaging(dot)org
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