California Increases Cost Controls to Manage Medicaid Growth.

According to a recent California HealthLine Newsletter, “California officials bolstered recipient benefits and even boosted payments to some health care providers in Medi-Cal, the state’s Medicaid program. These enhancements were made due to a forthcoming decline in federal Medicaid funding under the Affordable Care Act.  Beyond its expansion of Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act in 2014, the state did not change rules about who qualifies for the program in 2016 and 2017.”

“California also stood out from other states in its commitment to pay health care providers for performance and quality, rather than on frequency of care, according to the report. And the state was singled out for new initiatives that provide substance abuse and housing-related services to Medi-Cal recipients.”