COUNTY OF SAN MATEO

Inter-Departmental Correspondence

Health Department

DATE:

May 24, 2007

BOARD MEETING DATE:

June 5, 2007

SPECIAL NOTICE/HEARING:

None

VOTE REQUIRED:

Majority

TO:

Honorable Board of Supervisors

FROM:

Charlene A. Silva, Director, Health Department

Srija Srinivasan, Director, Health Policy, Planning, and Promotion

SUBJECT:

Approval of the County Plan, Budget, and Program Administrative Policies for the California Department of Health Services (CDHS) Outreach, Enrollment, Retention, and Utilization (OERU) allocation funding to the Children’s Health Initiative (CHI)

RECOMMENDATION:

Adopt a resolution:

1.

Approving the County Plan, Budget, and Program Administrative Policies for the California Department of Health Services Outreach, Enrollment, Retention, and Utilization; and

2.

Accepting allocation funding to the Children’s Health Initiative in the amount of $845,343 for the term February 2, 2007 through June 30, 2009; and

3.

Authorizing the Director of the Health Department or the Director's designee to execute amendments to the County Plan, Budget, and Program Administrative Policies which modify the County's maximum fiscal obligation by no more than $25,000 (in aggregate), or modify the County Plan, Budget, and Program Administrative Policies terms or services in a manner consistent with the then existing financial obligation.

VISION ALIGNMENT:

Commitment: Ensure basic health and safety for all.

Goal 5: Residents have access to healthcare and preventive care.

The OERU funding contributes to this commitment and goal by providing funds to pay for the personnel and operational costs of the CHI program which include health care coverage outreach, enrollment, utilization, and retention services to all children from low-income and middle-income families in San Mateo County.

Performance Measure(s):

Measure

FY 2005-2006
Actual

FY 2006-2007
Projected

Medi-Cal membership for children

24,058

26,005

Healthy Families membership

8,585

8,750

Healthy Kids membership

6,073

6,768

BACKGROUND:

In 2002 your Board established and funded the CHI to address community-wide concern for the 17,000 County children who lacked access to comprehensive health insurance coverage. In January 2003, the new Healthy Kids (HK) insurance program was established to provide comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage to all uninsured children ineligible for the existing Medi-Cal (MC) and Healthy Families (HF) programs. CHI conducts outreach and enrollment activities to children eligible for the MC, HF, and HK programs.

With the passage of Assembly Bill 1807 in July 2006, the State created the OERU allocation program to provide funding to counties for outreach and enrollment activities to enroll and retain eligible children in the MC and HF programs. The approved allocation for the County is $201,335 for FY 2006-2007, $322,004 for FY 2007-2008 and $322,004 for FY 2008-2009. The allocation is based on a formula that considers the number of children who appear to be eligible for, but are not enrolled in, MC and HF and the existing caseloads of children in MC and HF.

DISCUSSION:

In response to the opportunity for OERU funding, CHI completed an application process outlining a three-year plan and budget in September 2006.

As the State Administrator of this allocation program, CDHS approved the County’s three- year plan and budget on February 2, 2007. This allocation funding will be used to pay for a portion of the salary and benefits of CHI staff along with CHI operational costs such as outreach and marketing materials, training, outreach contracts with community-based organizations, and system enhancements to the One-e-App web-based application processing system.

The County’s Workplan includes conducting monthly parent orientations to review MC and HF program benefits and to assist with health care navigation, developing a tracking system in One-e-App to ensure retention of MC and HF children, conducting community-based outreach, and recruiting bilingual staff to assist with outreach and enrollment.

County Counsel has reviewed and approved all documents.

FISCAL IMPACT:

The OERU funding allocation of $845,343 is included in the CHI Approved Budget for FY 2006-07 of $8.9 million and in the CHI Recommended Budget for FY 2007-08 of $9.4 million. The OERU allocation balance will be included in the CHI Recommended Budget for FY 2008-09. Approval of this item has no Net County Cost impact.