Report 2018-122 Recommendation 2 Responses
Report 2018-122: Department of Health Care Services: It Has Not Ensured That Medi-Cal Beneficiaries in Some Rural Counties Have Reasonable Access to Care (Release Date: August 2019)
Recommendation #2 To: Health Care Services, Department of
To obtain assurance that health plans throughout the State exhaust all of their reasonable options to meet the access requirements before requesting alternative access standards, DHCS should immediately develop written guidance that specifies the conditions under which staff should approve, deny, or contact health plans for clarification regarding their alternative access standard requests.
6-Month Agency Response
DHCS has revised internal procedures so that they more clearly describe the conditions under which AAS are approved or denied.
- Completion Date: October 2019
- Response Date: January 2020
California State Auditor's Assessment of 6-Month Status: Fully Implemented
60-Day Agency Response
DHCS continues to improve the Alternate Access Standards (AAS) review process, which includes adding more specific criteria to determine reasonability of AAS requests, such as zip codes identified as Health Professional Shortage Designation Areas. DHCS is currently creating a standardized review process for staff and will be providing in-person training to ensure compliance.
- Estimated Completion Date: July 2020
- Response Date: October 2019
California State Auditor's Assessment of 60-Day Status: Pending
All Recommendations in 2018-122
Agency responses received are posted verbatim.