California hopes $3 billion experiment will improve health of neediest
Riverside County plans to connect former inmates with health clinics and social services. Orange County hopes to get homeless residents into housing – and help them stay there. Placer County is opening a respite center where homeless patients can go after they leave the hospital.
Those are just some of the pilot projects in a $3 billion experimental effort officials hope will improve the health of California’s most vulnerable populations. The effort is a recognition that improving people’s health will take more than just getting them insured.
The state has approved plans in 18 counties intended to reduce unnecessary emergency room visits and hospital stays among vulnerable groups such as people with multiple chronic illnesses, substance abuse problems and mental health disorders. The state is accepting a second round of applications for such projects next year.
The effort, known as “whole person care,” is part of an agreement between California and the federal government. It gives the state flexibility to try to improve the efficiency and quality of care in the state’s Medicaid program, known as Medi-Cal, which provides health coverage to low-income people.
Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/news/local/health-and-medicine/article122071074.html
