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Overview

The California Health Care Foundation (CHCF) is inviting interested applicants to submit letters of intent (LOI) to manage and facilitate a Medi-Cal Consumer Advisory Committee for the California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS).

Background

DHCS is creating a Medi-Cal Consumer Advisory Committee (CAC) to ensure that individuals enrolled in Medi-Cal, many of whom are from historically marginalized communities, have an active voice in designing DHCS programs. The CAC will operate alongside existing DHCS advisory groups, such as the Stakeholder Advisory Committee, but CAC participants will be exclusively Medi-Cal enrollees and family members of children who are Medi-Cal enrollees. DHCS’s expectation is that CAC feedback will result in substantive changes to Medi-Cal policies and practices, within the constraints in which DHCS operates.

DHCS and CHCF are currently engaged in a design phase for the CAC, which will be completed by the end of October. CHCF anticipates providing initial funding to support the creation and operations of the CAC for a period of one to two years, possibly in conjunction with one or more other funders. DHCS and CHCF anticipate the CAC would eventually be funded by DHCS.

The design phase, led by the Center for Health Care Strategies, includes research and stakeholder input on a range of issues, including composition and size, logistics and accessibility, meeting facilitation requirements, building trust, language considerations, preparing and supporting members, and compensation and other forms of support. Though many decisions have yet to be made, the CAC is starting to take shape. Although the specific size and composition have not been decided, the group will reflect the diversity of the Medi-Cal population across race/ethnicity, age, language, disability status, other enrollee characteristics, and geography. The CAC will meet four to six times per year.

Who Can Apply

CHCF and DHCS are looking for organizations with the following qualifications to manage and facilitate the CAC:

• A strong history of organizing, managing, and facilitating meetings with individuals from historically marginalized communities, especially low-income and BIPOC communities.
• An affirming and inclusive style and experience creating collaborative spaces.
• Experience successfully conducting in-person, virtual, and hybrid meetings and managing multiple breakout groups.
• Team members to staff this project who bring lived experiences that are relatable to CAC members and reflect the diversity of the Medi-Cal population.
• Ability to engage enrollees in multiple languages, including but not limited to Spanish, Vietnamese, and American Sign Language.
• Capable of supporting CAC members before, during, and after meetings to ensure they can effectively and confidently participate. Support needs are likely to include orientation/onboarding,
• IT/technical and other tailored support, check-ins/debrief calls, and offering members additional avenues for providing feedback.
• Capable of managing compensation to CAC members for their time and reimbursing for expenses.
• A working understanding of the Medi-Cal program.

A full set of required capabilities will be finalized prior to a solicitation of full proposals.

Process and Timeline

CHCF is issuing this call for LOIs to identify firms interested in managing and facilitating the CAC. Funding levels will be determined following an RFP process. Submission of an LOI does not guarantee that you will be invited to submit an RFP.

Responses to this solicitation should be submitted as a Word document to Chris Perrone at [email protected] no later than 12 PM (noon) on Friday, October 14, 2022.

Responses should provide the following information.

Page 1: Firm name, name and title of the proposed project lead, work address, phone number, email address, and URL (if applicable).

Page 2: Names and brief descriptions of the proposed project lead and up to three other key staff members who would likely support this project. If you anticipate needing to partner with another organization on this project, please identify any organizations with which you would like to partner.

Pages 3–4: Short descriptions (no more than one-half page each) of up to four engagements that best reflect the capabilities and characteristics described above. You can include engagements led by a partner organization; however, if you do, please also indicate which organization led the engagement.

Page 5 (Optional): Questions you have for CHCF and DHCS about the solicitation, understanding that decisions about the design of the CAC will be made after October 15.