Manatt Health February 8, 2021
Editor’s Note: In a new report for the California Health Care Foundation, summarized below, Manatt Health discusses the impact of key legal changes that supported the delivery of community behavioral health services in California during the early months of the COVID‑19 pandemic. In addition, the report identifies opportunities for long-term policy reform. Although focused primarily on Medi-Cal (California’s Medicaid program), the report also addresses legal changes that affected the Medicare program and commercial health plans.
The authors undertook two primary tasks in preparing this report. First, they prepared a compendium of the relevant legal actions adopted in response to the COVID-19 pandemic through California and federal laws, regulations, waivers or other regulatory guidance. Second, they conducted interviews with four stakeholders...