Health Reform in Alameda County
A year-long conversation series hosted by
the Alameda County Board of Supervisors Health Committee
Alameda County Board of Supervisors Health Committee members Wilma Chan and Keith Carson have planned a year-long conversation series to discuss local implementations of the Affordable Care Act. The series' goal is to help Alameda County prepare for the opportunities and challenges associated with health reform in 2014 and beyond. The format will foster listening and learning about the changes ahead and discussion on how best to move forward as a community. The hearings will address a different issue area each month, featuring experts and local community health leaders. They will combine the "big picture" with specific local issues and community feedback and generate policy recommendations for Alameda County. For more information about the series of hearings, please see the link below.
- AC Hearings Handout (PDF - 101kb)
- Hearings:
- November 14: Overview of the Affordable Care Act and Alameda County
- December 12: Health Reform's Impacts on Acute Care Delivery
- January 30: Improving Care Delivery for Dual Eligibles: Aligning Incentives and Coordinating Long-term Care Supports and Services
- February 27: Preparing the Primary Care System for Health Reform
- March 26: Laying the Foundation of Strong Eligibility and Enrollment Systems
- April 23: Innovation in Prevention
- TBD: Building a Strong Health Care Workforce
- June 25: Care Portals: Expanding Access and Reducing Unnecessary Care
- August 27: Issues around Oral Health
- September 24: Understanding Changes in the Health Insurance Market
- October 22: Health Information Exchanges and Coordinating Care Delivery
- November 5: Building Strong Linkages to Specialty Care
- December 10: The Patient Experience
November 14: Overview of the Affordable Care Act and Alameda County
This kick-off session provided an introduction to the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and summary of issues that may impact Alameda County.
- Projecting the Impact of the Affordable Care Act on California (PDF - 963kb), by Peter Long and Jonathan Gruber
- Lessons for Counties in Preparing for Health Reform (PDF - 621kb), by Richard Thomason, Blue Shield of California Foundation
- State and Federal Health Care Reform in Alameda County (PDF - 668kb)
- Alameda Hearing Session 1 ACA Overview (PDF - 114kb), by Sarah Arnquist, Harbage Consulting
December 12: Health Reform's Impacts on Acute Care Delivery
The ACA includes provisions that will impact hospital service delivery, including the increased number of people with insurance who now will be able to choose where they receive care. New financial reimbursement structures encourage hospitals to become part of larger coordinated networks of care and improve patient transitions back to the community. This hearing provided an overview of these provisions and perspectives from local hospital directors about a post-reform care delivery system.
- Acute Care Hearing Summary (PDF - 61kb)
Background
- ACMC DSRIP Proposal (PDF - 431kb)
- ACMC Reform Preparations (PDF - 301kb)
- Patients Grades to Affect Hospitals Medicare Reimbursements (PDF - 113kb)
- RWFJ Reform impact on Hospitals (PDF - 210kb)
Presentations
- Alameda County Acute Care Facilities Utilization 2010 (PDF - 1443kb), by Alex Briscoe, Alameda County Health Care Services Agency
- Total Volume table AB (PDF - 33kb), by Alex Briscoe, Alameda County Health Care Services Agency
- Weinberg Alameda 121211 (PDF - 1227kb), by Micah Weinberg, Bay Area Council
- HCR and Alameda County (PDF - 458kb), by Rebecca Rozen, Hospital Council of Northern and Central California
- Health Committee Presentation BHM (PDF - 1093kb), by Bill Manns, Chief Operating Officer, Alameda County Medical Center
January 30: Improving Care Delivery for Dual Eligibles: Aligning Incentives and Coordinating Long-term Care Supports and Services
Dual Eligibles are individuals who receive both Medicare and Medi-Cal benefits. Most have multiple chronic conditions that make them among the most vulnerable and expensive patients in the system. California is developing new models of coordinated care delivery for dual eligibles. This conversation will examine the opportunities and challenges with this proposal statewide and locally.
Background
- Dual Eligibles: Medicaid's Role for Low-Income Medicare Beneficiaries (PDF - 228kb), Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured (May 2011)
- Summary of Focus Groups Conducted With Medicare-Medicaid Beneficiaries in California, Oakland and Riverside (PDF - 161kb), Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (December 2011)
- Overview of California's Duals Demonstration (PDF - 150kb), Harbage Consulting (October 2011)
- Medicare and Medicaid Alignment: Challenges and Opportunities for Serving Dual Eligibles (PDF - 400kb), National Senior Citizens Law Center (August 20)
Presentations
- Coordinating Care for Dual Eligibles: California's Demonstration Project (PDF - 1008kb), by Sarah Arnquist, Harbage Consulting
- Linking Medical Care and Long-Term Services and Supports: Issues, Implications, & Opportunities (PDF - 500kb), by Sarah Steenhausen, SCAN Foundation
- PACE : Program of All-inclusive Care for the Elderly (PDF - 1039kb), by Peter Szutu, Center for Elders' Independence
- Reforming the Delivery of Medical, Behavioral, and Long Term Services for People with Disabilities and the Elderly (PDF - 44kb), by Gary Passmore, Congress of California Seniors
February 27: Preparing the Primary Care System for Health Reform
Access to primary care will be an ongoing issue as more people gain health coverage. This session will discuss new models for delivering primary care, such as patient centered medical homes and new competition for patients among providers.
- Summary of Primary Care System Hearing (PDF - 91kb), by Sarah Arnquist, Harbage Consulting
Background
- In Massachusetts, Universal Coverage Strains Care (PDF - 37kb), by Kevin Sack, The New York Times
- The Primary Care Physician and Health Care Reform (PDF - 54kb), by Robert H. Brook, MD, ScD and Roy T. Young, MD, The Journal of the American Medical Association
- The Teamlet Model of Primary Care (PDF - 95kb), by Thomas Bodenheimer, MD and Brian Yoshio Laing, BS, Annals of Family Medicine
- Lessons from the Trenches — A High-Functioning Primary Care Clinic (PDF - 267kb), by Thomas Bodenheimer, M.D., The New England Journal of Medicine
- Care Management of Patients with Complex Health Care Needs (PDF - kb), by Sarah Goodell, M.A., Thomas Bodenheimer, M.D., M.P.H., and Rachel Berry-Millet, B.A.
- Alameda Health Consortium Health Centers 2010 (PDF - 87kb)
Presentations
- The Building Blocks of High-Performing Primary Care (PDF - 2275kb), Tom Bodenheimer, M.D., Center for Excellence in Primary Care, UCSF
- Healthy San Francisco Overview: Preparing the Primary Care System for Health Reform (PDF - 220kb), by Tangerine Brigham, San Francisco Department of Public Health
- Preparing the Primary Care System for Health Care Reform (PDF - 730kb), by Ralph Silber, Executive Director, Alameda Health Consortium, and Sherry Hirota, Chief Executive Officer, Asian Health Services
- Addendum to Alameda Health Consortium Presentation (PDF - 87kb), by Sherry Hirota, Chief Executive Officer, Asian Health Services
- La Clinica de la Raza (PDF - 520kb), by Patricia Zayas, M.D., Chief Medical Officer
March 26: Laying the Foundation of Strong Eligibility and Enrollment Systems
Roughly 56,000 Alameda County residents will be eligible for the Medi-Cal expansion. The County will be responsible for enrolling them using new, simplified tools. This session will focus on ways to promote enrollment, needed cooperation with local unions, and the development of California's Health Benefits Exchange that will help people purchase private insurance coverage starting in 2014.
Background
- An Enrollment Checklist (PDF - 352kb), by Jennifer Sullivan, Enroll America
- Enrollment Checklist by Enroll America (PDF - 110kb)
- Communicating with Plain Language (PDF - 141kb), Nicole Donnelly, Penny Lane, and Joan Winchester, Enroll America
- An Introduction to Health Literacy and Enrollment (PDF - 175kb), by Nicole Donnelly, Penny Lane, Joan Winchester, and Christina Powell, Enroll America
- Ideal Application Process (PDF - 251kb), by Elisabeth Rodman, Enroll America
- Building a Consumer-Driven Eligibility, Enrollment, and Renewal System: Essential Design Features for Effective Health Reform in California (PDF - 58kb), by Dawn Horner and Beth Morrow
- Under Pressure: Front-Line Experiences of Medi-Cal Eligibility Workers (PDF - 460kb), by The California HealthCare Foundation
- Health-e-App Public Access: A New Online Path to Children's Health Care Coverage in California: An Overview of the First Year (PDF - 142kb), by Leslie Foster
- Enrolling in Medi-Cal: The Consumer Experience (PDF - 1045kb), Michael Perry, Mary Slosar, Phd, Naomi Mulligan, Lake Research Partners, California HealthCare Foundation and California Endowment
Presentations
- Getting Ready for Enrollment in 2013 (PDF - 758kb), Rachel Klein, Executive Director, Enroll America (EA Alameda County)
- Laying the Foundation of Strong Eligibility and Enrollment Systems (PDF - 387kb), Catherine Teare, MPP, Senior Program Office, California HealthCare Foundation
- Health Care Reform: Implications and Opportunities for Counties (PDF - 60kb), Cathy Senderling-McDonald, Deputy Executive Director, County Welfare Directors Association of California
- Eligibility, Enrollment, Renewal (PDF - 302kb), Lori Jones, Agency Director, and Randy Morris, Assistant Agency Director, Alameda County Social Services Agency
April 23: Innovation in Prevention
In contrast to the current system, health reform prioritizes prevention of disease. Additionally, providers are leveraging grants to work on improving integration of physical, mental health and substance use services. This session will look at new funding and initiatives available and what Alameda County is doing locally in these key areas.
Background
- Health Policy Brief: The Prevention and Public Health Fund (PDF - 146kb), by Jennifer Haberkorn
- The Prevention and Public Health Fund: Backgrounder and Fact Sheet (PDF - 176kb), by Trust for America's Health
- The Affordable Care Act's Prevention and Public Health Fund in California (PDF - 37kb), by www.healthcare.gov
Presentations
- Prevention and Healthcare Reform: Why It's Important for Alameda County (PDF - 497kb), by Mary Pittman, DrPH President and CEO of the Public Health Institute
- Innovations in Prevention (PDF - 214kb), by Ellen Wu, MPH, Executive Director of the California Pan-Ethnic Health Network
- Improving Community Health: A Framework for Achieving Health Equity (PDF - 1516kb), by Muntu Davis, MD, MPH, County Health Officer, Alameda County Public Health Department
- Street Level Health Project (PDF - 747kb), by Laura Elizabeth Lopez, Executive Director of the Street Level Health Project
TBD: Building a Strong Health Care Workforce
With an additional 150,000 people insured in 2018, additional workforce will be needed to ensure all Alameda County residents have adequate access to care. This session will provide an overview of projected workforce needs, and an update on local efforts to develop tomorrow's diverse and capable health care workforce.
June 25: Care Portals: Expanding Access and Reducing Unnecessary Care
Retooling emergency medical services to focus on prevention and avoidance of the hospital and emergency department are major opportunities for expanding access to care and saving public dollars. Alameda County is at the forefront of this arena. This session will provide a summary of innovations in EMS occurring nationally and locally.
JULY: Summer BREAK
August 27: Issues around Oral Health
This session will address oral health issues. It will also look at how counties and states are managing to move forward in light of budget and political uncertainty.
September 24: Understanding Changes in the Health Insurance Market
Health reform means transformative changes to the health insurance market - from increased regulation of private insurers' enrollment practices and profit to purchasing subsidies for individuals and families earning up to 400% FPL. This session will provide updates on the State Health Benefits Exchange and local insurers' plans for recruitment and enrollment.
October 22: Health Information Exchanges and Coordinating Care Delivery
Health Information Exchanges will be a critical component of a health care system capable of providing coordinated care across the delivery system. This session will provide an overview of the national and statewide issues related to these exchanges, as well as an overview of Alameda County's current status of electronic medical records and interoperability.
November 5: Building Strong Linkages to Specialty Care
Health reform encourages transformation of the health care system. This session will examine new models of care delivery promoted by the ACA and how they're being developed in Alameda County. It will look at models trying to coordinate patient services along the continuum of care from prevention to specialty to care to acute care.
December 10: The Patient Experience
The yearlong series will culminate with an examination of the local health care delivery system through the lens of patients. Consumer experts and local patients will share stories about care delivery experiences, needs, concerns and priorities.
Alameda County © 2012 • All Rights Reserved •
Connect Via