Coronavirus

About Coronavirus

As California’s hospitals continue their life-saving work during the COVID-19 pandemic, the hospital associations continue to advocate on behalf of hospitals and their patients, in addition to offering these tools and resources:

Streamlining data with the COVID-19 Tracking Tool
Frequently asked questions
COVID-19 Surges: FAQs & Resources for Hospitals

5 Things To Know: Medi-Cal Redeterminations, Covid-19 Precautions, National Recovery Month, Timely Claims Payments, HCAI Seismic Webinars

MEDI-CAL REDETERMINATIONS: The Department of Health Care Services has published a new interactive dashboard detailing statewide and county-level demographic data on Medi-Cal application processing, enrollments, redeterminations, and renewal outcomes. Preliminary data on the Medi-Cal redeterminations show that in San Diego County, 16,336 Medi-Cal beneficiaries were disenrolled effective June 30. In Imperial County, 1,482 beneficiaries were […]

5 Things To Know: COVID-19 Uninsured Group Program, Medi-Cal and CalFresh, Funding Opportunity, Health Plans, COVID-19 Health Orders

COVID-19 UNINSURED GROUP PROGRAM: The Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) is clarifying that coverage for this group expires on May 31 — the last day of the month in which the COVID-19 public health emergency ends — not May 11. California has taken advantage of the “optional COVID-19 group,” which provides uninsured and underinsured individuals with Medi-Cal coverage for COVID-19 vaccines, testing, and treatment at no cost to the individual through the COVID-19 Uninsured Group Program. Beginning March 20, DHCS will send the individuals in this group a sunset notice in their preferred language with a copy of the “Application for Health Insurance” and a “Notice of Language Services.”  

5 Things To Know: Overdose to Action Grant, Behavioral Health Workforce Development, Patient Safety Webinars, Medi-Cal RX Update, Equity Working Group Webinar

OVERDOSE TO ACTION GRANT: San Diego County is a recipient of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Overdose Data to Action (OD2A) grant, which focuses on overdose surveillance and prevention. Along with community-focused overdose prevention activities, a key strategy of OD2A is supporting San Diego licensed prescribers (i.e., physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, and pharmacists). The county’s OD2A team has also developed an OD2A quarterly newsletter specifically for licensed prescribers. Since 2016, opioid-related drug deaths in the San Diego region have been on the increase. Overdose deaths attributed to fentanyl almost tripled from 2019 to 2020 and accounted for 77% of opioid-related deaths in 2020, compared to 45% in 2019. The highest rate of opioid overdose deaths, in 2020, was in the Central region, followed by the East and North Coastal regions. These data are used by the county to guide overdose prevention activities.  

5 Things To Know: COVID-19 in Nursing Homes, CHA Alert, Behavioral Health Initiative Grant Funding, Expiration of Temporary Waivers, Waivers for Justice-Involved Individuals

COVID-19 IN NURSING HOMES: People living in nursing homes continue to be disproportionately impacted by COVID-19.

If hospitals have questions or want to discuss strategies, please contact Lindsey C. Yourman, MD, chief geriatric officer, San Diego County Health & Human Services Agency, at LindseyC.Yourman@sdcounty.ca.gov.  

5 Things To Know: Office of Health Care Affordability, Medi-Cal Budget Request, Veterans in Suicidal Crisis, Empath Unit Deadline Extended, Behavioral Health Playbook

OFFICE OF HEALTH CARE AFFORDABILITY: The California Hospital Association (CHA) has developed a web page for the new Office of Health Care Affordability. The web page contains background information on the office’s main responsibilities and implementation timelines. It will be updated as new information becomes available. Contact Ben Johnson at bjohnson@calhospital.org with any questions.  

5 Things To Know: CalAIM Incentive Payment Plan, Retention Payment Program, Monkeypox Resources

CALAIM INCENTIVE PAYMENT PLAN PROGRAM UPDATE: The California Advancing and Innovating Medi-Cal (CalAIM) Incentive Payment Program is intended to support the implementation and expansion of enhanced care management and community supports by incentivizing managed care plans (MCPs) to drive MCP delivery system investment in provider capacity and delivery system infrastructure. It is also intended to bridge current silos across physical and behavioral health care service delivery; reduce health disparities and promote health equity; achieve improvements in quality performance; and encourage take-up of community supports. More information on the MCP Incentive Payment Plan Program Year 1 Gap Filling Plan is available by county (San Diego and Imperial included) on the Department of Health Care Services website. Additional general information on the Incentive Payment Program can be found on the CalAIM Roundtables by Region web pages for San Diego and Imperial counties. 

5 Things To Know: Health Services Task Force, Cybersecurity Project, Health Care Scholarships

HEALTH SERVICES CAPACITY TASK FORCE: The All-Hazard Health Services Capacity Management Plan activation level has been elevated from Level 3 Partial Activation to Level 2 Escalated Activation. Over the last week, system metrics have suggested increasing stresses on health care capacity. These indicators include increased emergency department boarders, larger emergency medical services system volumes, and rising wastewater viral detections. Close system monitoring is ongoing to determine the need to escalate to a higher plan level and various mitigation tools may be activated if necessary. Maintaining masking, physical distancing, and other protective practices are vital to minimizing the level of the current patient surge, and vaccinations and boosters against COVID-19 and influenza are strongly encouraged. The Health Services Capacity Task Force Operational Group continues to meet regularly, and sector representatives will provide important updates, facilitate information sharing, and recommend coordinated plan actions to optimize health care delivery countywide.

5 Things To Know: Pharmacy Fraud Scheme, Behavioral Health Access, Vaccine Administration Claims

SAN DIEGO COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS: On June 28, the County of San Diego Board of Supervisors unanimously adopted a $7.36 billion budget for the 2022-23 fiscal year, with significant investments in behavioral health, homelessness, equity, racial justice, and climate change. Additionally, the board unanimously declared fentanyl as a public health crisis, which will direct county staff to develop a comprehensive strategy to address this crisis and devote more resources to fentanyl education, treatment, recovery, and harm reduction strategies. Board Chair Nathan Fletcher also indicated the county is expected to receive $100 million from a lawsuit settlement with opioid manufacturers, and funding could be directed toward the effort. From August to October, the county will host workshops to get feedback from the community on how to prioritize settlement dollars, and the board will meet in October to consider a framework. Lastly, the board unanimously approved all recommendations and actions to enhance human trafficking prevention and service coordination efforts to support survivors. With this action, the county also authorized procurement to establish peer support navigation services for adult survivors