Advocates oppose CA mental health waiver
California advocates are opposing the state’s attempt to broaden the federal waiver under which it delivers inpatient and outpatient Medicaid mental health services. "The experience with the current waiver has been mixed with respect to providing greater beneficiary access to services and improving quality of care," says a letter from Protection and Advocacy Inc, an Oakland-based disabilities advocacy organization, in a Feb. 2 letter to Health Care Financing and Administration administrator Wayne Smith. California operates its Medicaid mental health services under a section 1915(b) freedom of choice waiver. All Medicaid enrollees are automatically enrolled in a single managed care entity, the local county mental health system, dubbed the Mental Health Plan. State officials are requesting the federal government to ease the requirements for providing enrollees information about the program. The request also seeks more local latitude in a variety of administrative functions. Advocates also are concerned about the availability of providers under the existing program. ". . . the California mental health specialty services consolidation appears to have provided greater access . . . ," says the letter from Protection and Advocacy associate managing attorney David Brzovic. "Nevertheless, the restrictions on freedom of choice can and do result in denial of services without recourse. . . ."
Call Protection and Advocacy Inc. at (510) 893-0811 and the CA Medi-Cal program at (916) 657-3064.
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