The Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) announced last week that the transition of rural Medi-Cal fee-for-service to managed care will be delayed from June 1 to September 1. The department said the delay is necessary in order to ensure a smooth transition process for enrollees.

The California Legislature authorized, as part of last year's budget, the expansion of Medi-Cal managed care into rural fee-for-service counties, expanding the Medi-Cal managed care program into 28 California counties. This expansion is part of the governor's plan to reduce costs in the Medi-Cal program. Under the expansion program, eligible Medi-Cal enrollees will be required to enroll in a Medi-Cal managed care program in order to receive services.

The expansion of managed care includes the following rural fee-for-services counties: Alpine, Amador, Butte, Calaveras, Colusa, Del Norte, El Dorado, Glenn, Humboldt, Imperial, Inyo, Lake, Lassen, Mariposa, Modoc, Mono, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, San Benito, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou, Sutter, Tehama, Trinity, Tuolumne and Yuba.

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