People experiencing homelessness face numerous obstacles in accessing care and managing their health and social needs. Street medicine care teams deliver care to people who are unsheltered within their own lived environment, helping them access critical health and social services. Sustainable funding is needed to support the growth and integration of street medicine into the broader continuum of health care services. In California, the Medi-Cal reform effort known as CalAIM offers both one-time and sustainable funding.

Financial Planning for Street Medicine Providers in California is a toolkit designed for California-based health care providers and community-based organizations seeking to maximize their use of available funding for street medicine programs. The toolkit also explains how street medicine providers can contract with Medi-Cal managed care plans to reimburse health care services. As more street medicine teams begin contracting with health plans, it is important that these teams understand the funding streams they can access to support their programs, as well as the cost of operating their teams, to support rate negotiation with health plans or other payers.

The toolkit includes practical, step-by-step guidance and a downloadable budget template to help street medicine teams estimate their anticipated expenses and revenue.

The Center for Health Care Strategies published the toolkit with support from CHCF and Health Net.