Our Blog

(February 27, 2017)

By Molly Brassil, Director, Behavioral Health Policy
and Courtney Kashiwagi, Senior Policy Consultant

This month, two California counties began delivering substance use disorder (SUD) treatment services to Medi-Cal enrollees under the state’s pilot program testing a new delivery system for enrollees with SUDs. The pilot, known as the Drug Medi-Cal Organized Delivery System (DMC-ODS), was authorized in 2015 by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) under California’s Medicaid Section 1115 waiver....

(January 18, 2017)

By Lucy Pagel
Policy Consultant

Approved at the end of 2015, California’s Medicaid section 1115 waiver renewal, known as Medi-Cal 2020 is now well underway. The waiver has many components, but the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) was particularly active in three areas during 2016: 1) The Public Hospital redesign and Incentives in Medi-Cal (PRIME) Program (formerly known as DSRIP), 2) The Whole Person Care (WPC) pilot program, and 3) The Drug Medi-Cal Organized Delivery System (DMC-ODS). Harbage Consulting was proud to provide policy and operational support to the state on each of these initiatives....

(January 4, 2017)

By Hilary Haycock
President, Harbage Consulting

As we move into 2017, Harbage Consulting is proud of the great work accomplished with our clients over the past year.  We know there is a lot of work ahead of us, and we look forward to helping our clients achieve their goals and working together to protect the Medicaid program and the health care safety net in a changing environment....

(December 22, 2016)

By Tanya Schwartz
Director, Medicaid Policy

Baltimore City officials recently announced that the infant mortality rate in Baltimore reached an all-time low in 2015, due in large part to the success of the B’More for Healthy Babies Initiative. B’More for Healthy Babies (BHB) is a citywide public-private partnership led by the Baltimore City Health Department with more than 100 partners that seeks to ensure that all babies are born at a healthy weight, full-term and ready to thrive in healthy families....

(December 8, 2016)

By Jennifer Ryan
Vice President, Harbage Consulting

Last week, West Virginia submitted its first Medicaid section 1115 waiver request – a proposal designed to address the state’s opioid addiction crisis. Developed with support from Harbage Consulting, West Virginia’s waiver application is an important step toward gaining federal financial support and technical assistance to build a continuum of care, promote access to substance use disorder (SUD) treatment, and support long-term recovery....

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