AB 2348 authorizes Medi‑Cal managed care plans to continue covering community supports that the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) has approved as cost‑effective and medically appropriate once the CalAIM initiative ends. The bill folds those supports into a CalAIM successor program and conditions continuation on the availability of federal financial participation (the Medicaid match).
The measure also tightens oversight and implementation supports: DHCS must publish utilization, population, and demographic data on community supports more frequently and must provide ongoing technical assistance to managed care plans and community‑based providers. The change aims to preserve nonmedical services that address social drivers of health while creating clearer reporting and capacity‑building expectations for plans and providers.
At a Glance
What It Does
Creates statutory authority for managed care plans to continue covering DHCS‑approved community supports after CalAIM expires, provided federal matching funds are available, and incorporates those services into a CalAIM successor framework. It also requires more frequent public reporting and ongoing technical assistance from DHCS.
Who It Affects
Medi‑Cal managed care plans, community‑based providers of supports such as housing transition navigation and medically supportive food and nutrition services, DHCS program and contracting staff, and Medi‑Cal beneficiaries who use these services.
Why It Matters
The bill moves temporary CalAIM community supports toward permanence within state law, shifting how plans budget, contract, and report on those services while making continued provision contingent on federal approval and funding—an arrangement that affects state finances and provider readiness.
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What This Bill Actually Does
CalAIM introduced community supports as optional services managed care plans could elect to offer to address social drivers of health. AB 2348 picks up that policy thread and gives it a statutory home: it directs DHCS to allow managed care plans to continue covering community supports the department has approved as both medically appropriate and cost‑effective once CalAIM sunsets.
The measure does not create a blanket entitlement; coverage continues only for supports that pass DHCS’s approval and only if federal financial participation is available.
The bill links the continued coverage to the creation of a CalAIM successor program. Practically, that means payment methodologies and program structures developed under CalAIM can carry forward under federal rules, but DHCS must secure any necessary federal approvals to obtain the Medicaid match.
Plans should expect this to affect budgeting and rate negotiations because the availability of federal funds will determine how much the state and plans can rely on federal reimbursement for these supports.To improve oversight and to inform stakeholders, AB 2348 requires DHCS to increase the cadence of public reporting on community supports. The department must publish data on reported utilization, the populations served, and demographic breakdowns at a more frequent interval.
That change shifts monitoring from a once‑a‑year snapshot to a recurring feed of data intended to support transparency and program adjustment.Finally, the bill directs DHCS to provide ongoing technical assistance to managed care plans and community support providers. That assistance can take the form of operational guidance, training, data templates, and implementation support intended to standardize practices and increase provider capacity.
The requirement acknowledges that sustaining and scaling nonmedical services demands administrative work and provider readiness beyond initial policy approval.
The Five Things You Need to Know
AB 2348 adds an Article 5.52 (beginning with Section 14184.1000) to the Welfare and Institutions Code to house the community supports authority.
Continued coverage of department‑approved community supports begins January 1, 2027.
DHCS may permit continuation only for supports it approves as cost‑effective and medically appropriate and only if federal financial participation (the Medicaid match) is available.
DHCS must publish a public report that includes reported community supports utilization, populations served, and demographic data on a quarterly basis.
The department must provide ongoing technical assistance to Medi‑Cal managed care plans and community‑based providers to improve their ability to deliver approved community supports.
Section-by-Section Breakdown
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Statutory placement for community supports
The bill creates a discrete statutory article in Chapter 7, Part 3, Division 9 of the Welfare and Institutions Code to house rules on community supports. Placing these rules in statute signals an intent to move beyond CalAIM’s temporary administrative authority and gives future administrators a clearer legal basis for program continuity, standard setting, and oversight.
DHCS approval standard for continued coverage
This provision authorizes Medi‑Cal managed care plans to continue covering community supports only when DHCS has reviewed and approved those supports as cost‑effective and medically appropriate. The phrasing delegates substantive review to DHCS, creating a gatekeeper role that will shape which interventions persist. For plans and providers, the key practical implication is that program continuation hinges on DHCS’ evaluative criteria and process.
Conditional continuation tied to federal participation and successor program
The bill makes continuation contingent on the availability of federal financial participation and explicitly locates approved community supports within a CalAIM successor program. That linkage preserves the use of Medicaid financing mechanisms developed under CalAIM but subjects them to federal approval. In short, state authority alone does not guarantee ongoing federal reimbursement—DHCS must secure any necessary federal waivers or approvals to realize the Medicaid match.
Quarterly reporting and ongoing implementation support
DHCS must switch from annual to quarterly public reporting on community supports, including utilization counts, populations served, and demographic breakdowns. The department is also required to provide ongoing technical assistance to managed care plans and providers—operational guidance, training, and capacity building—to improve service delivery. These are implementation provisions: they increase transparency and aim to reduce variation in how plans adopt and administer community supports, but they also impose ongoing administrative tasks on DHCS and reporting obligations on plans and providers.
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Explore Healthcare in Codify Search →Who Benefits and Who Bears the Cost
Every bill creates winners and losers. Here's who stands to gain and who bears the cost.
Who Benefits
- Medi‑Cal beneficiaries with social‑risk needs — continuity of approved community supports (for example, housing transition navigation or medically supportive food services) helps maintain access to nonmedical interventions tied to better health outcomes.
- Community‑based providers offering approved supports — remaining within the Medi‑Cal payment framework can stabilize referrals and revenue streams for providers that meet DHCS approval and reporting requirements.
- Managed care plans — gaining statutory clarity and a successor framework reduces policy uncertainty and lets plans plan for longer‑term contracts and care pathways for enrollees who need social supports.
Who Bears the Cost
- Department of Health Care Services — increased reporting cadence and a mandate to provide ongoing technical assistance create operational and staffing demands that may require new resources or reallocation.
- Medi‑Cal managed care plans — plans could absorb program costs if federal match is delayed or unavailable, and must invest in data collection and contracting with community providers to meet DHCS approval and reporting requirements.
- Community‑based providers — providers must meet DHCS’ approval criteria and reporting expectations, which may require administrative upgrades, staff training, and investment in data systems.
Key Issues
The Core Tension
The central dilemma is balancing continuity of social‑care interventions that can reduce health disparities and downstream medical costs against the fiscal and administrative realities of Medicaid financing: preserving supports improves care but depends on federal match and imposes reporting and implementation burdens that states, plans, and providers must absorb.
AB 2348 resolves the immediate policy question of whether community supports can outlive CalAIM, but it leaves several operational knots untied. First, the bill relies on DHCS determinations of cost‑effectiveness and medical appropriateness without specifying the evidentiary standard, review timeline, or appeal path.
That discretion gives the department flexibility but raises implementation questions about consistency, transparency, and how rapidly new supports can be added or removed.
Second, conditioning continuation on federal financial participation creates binary risk: if DHCS cannot secure federal approval or if federal priorities change, Medi‑Cal beneficiaries could lose access to supports that state law otherwise contemplates. That linkage also affects state budgeting: the state may either need to fund services without the federal match or scale back services, and the bill does not appropriate funds to cover transition costs or enhanced administrative duties tied to reporting and technical assistance.
Finally, shifting to quarterly reporting improves data visibility but increases the reporting burden on plans and providers and heightens the risk that data quality or consistency problems will drive misleading conclusions about program performance.
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