In December 2023, the California Health Care Foundation published the results of a statewide survey designed to obtain a more detailed understanding of how implementation of the CalAIM (California Advancing and Innovating Medi-Cal) initiative was unfolding on the ground.

The online survey was conducted by Goodwin Simon Strategic Research (GSSR) during summer 2023 among 1,196 people working at managed care plans, behavioral health organizations, community-based organizations, and social services organizations, as well as people in related occupations, referred to collectively as “implementers” in the report.

To gain a sharper picture of how implementation is playing out regionally, GSSR produced five regional reports from the original data. These reports explore the unique challenges and successes faced by implementers in specific parts of the state. The focus on regional experiences aims to reveal detailed insights that could help in developing focused strategies to improve the impact of CalAIM.

CalAIM Experiences: Central Coast Implementers focuses on findings from Monterey, San Benito, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Ventura Counties.

Key findings include these:

• Slightly more than half of respondents (52%) said that access to services has gotten better under CalAIM.
• Nearly two-thirds (63%) were confident that CalAIM-related processes will become more effective over time, but most (65%) wanted to see those changes in less than a year.
• When asked about challenges in implementing Enhanced Care Management or Community Supports, half (51%) said payment rates that do not cover the full cost of the service.

CalAIM is still in the midst of implementation, so while reading the report, please keep in mind the survey timeline. Changes that went into effect since summer 2023 would not yet have been felt by survey respondents.